After the Storm
by RhapsodicMelody
Summary: This is my first fan fic...ANYWAYS! This takes place after the original story of Wolf's Rain, so if you haven't seen all of the anime, DON'T READ IT. Sorry...the rating had to go up because I'm stupid and Tsume has a horrible potty mouth. sweatdrop
1. The Beginning

!WARNING! SPOILERS ON THE LOOSE, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ALL OF WOLF'S RAIN!!!

DISCLAIMERS

I don't own Wolf's Rain, even though it is my favorite anime at this point in time. And I don't think this really happened, this is just my view on what should have happened after the last episode when everyone is reborn. It makes me happy, and it does have a story plot, surprisingly. But yeah. Enjoy. And beware the remarkable amount of spoilers, yet again.

_Tsume's POV_

"Stupid rain," I murmured, shifting uncomfortably on my motorcycle, cursing my choice in clothes. Leather probably wasn't the best idea, considering the weather. But this is what I had, and I felt...antsy...like I had to get outside. I didn't like being cooped up anyway, but something was telling me that I had to get out. Something was calling me. I'd felt like this since several weeks ago, but who the hell cares? It's just a feeling, unworthy of being noticed...

The light changed color, and I took off as fast as possible. No where to go, but no where to stay...being a drifter was sometimes the pissiest thing to have been, but who the hell can stay in one place when no one wants you? I tried staying once, just to spite the bastards, but I was chased out soon after that. Murder isn't taken very well in Tokyo, so my first plan of action wasn't much of a choice.

I finally stopped at a gas station to pick up some Red Bull. Stuff tasted like shit, but whatever- it kept me going. As I reached into my pocket to grab my wallet, I felt like something wasn't right, then shrugged. Whatever, it wasn't my problem. As I dropped three seventy two on the counter, I heard a muffled cry from the back lot. Piss. I knew I was going to go and see whatever was going on.

Glancing around the corner, I felt my mood blacken even more. Damn. I was getting into something that I shouldn't have.

The boy was curled up in the corner, possibly the most pitiful thing that I had ever seen, trying to yell at a group of jackasses while hiding from them. A painful mew was coming from whatever the men had encircled, and I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust. I was about ready to go help the two things that I hated more than anything (except for maybe the taste of Red Bull)- a cat and a kid. It was lucky for them that I was in a pissy enough mood to do something about them.

"Hey, bastards," I snapped, stepping out from around the corner and giving them the biggest smirk I could remember. "Lucky for the kid that I'm in a pissy mood...I'll give you to the count of three to try to run."

"Who the hell do you think you are, punk?!" one of them demanded, standing up and popping his neck, trying to look tough. Jackass.

"One."

"I think this guy is serious," another one said with a chuckle, looking at me in sadistic amusement.

"Two."

"Maybe we'll let him get one hit in, make him feel like a big boy."

"Three." One of my feet connected with the leader's belly while my hand grabbed the white ball of lint that was the kitten. One of the idiots tried to rush me (poor stupid bastard) but was on the ground after a few swift, well-aimed kicks. The last one tried to make a run for it (punk), so I threw the kitten at the kid- cat's have nine lives, right?- and took of after him. For all that I hated kids and cats, little cowardly punk ass bullies pissed me off more.

He burst in through the back door to the gas station and went to grab some antisocial looking guy who was trying to buy beef jerky. Antisocial's stormy blue gray eyes flashed, and then Cowardly Ass Bully was flung into a pile of Seven Ups. The guy glared at me from under chocolate bangs, then turned back to the cashier, who looked like she was going to panic.

Another punk walked in through the front door and stared in amusement at Cowardly Ass Bully's unconscious body. "Well, isn't that interesting?" he said with a chuckle, taking a bite out of his Big Mac (Rhapsodic Melody- EW! SICKO! McDONALD'S SUCKS!!!) "Which one of you two did this, huh?" He glanced between me and Antisocial for a moment, and then I turned to walk back to where kid and cat were to get my Red Bulls.

"Thanks mister," the kid squeaked, still clinging to the cat and gazing up at me with hopeful eyes.

"What the hell are you doing out in the rain alone, anyway?" I snapped, picking up the energy drinks. "Lucky for you that I'm in a pissed mood, or else I would have left you for dead."

His amber eyes widened in horror. "They would have killed me?"

"Wouldn't take much, would it?" I turned to leave and heard splashing steps come after me. "What the hell do you want?"

"Uh...well...I...uh...."

Dumb kid. I stalked into the gas station and smirked at Big Mac and Antisocial, who were helping the cashier pick up the mess. Antisocial glared up at me. "Aren't you going to help?"

"It's not my fault that you decided to throw Cowardly Ass into a tower of sodas," I snorted, heading towards the door.

"If you hadn't chased him in here, I wouldn't have had to." His voice held the tiniest hint of anger in its monotonous drawl. Good, so he was getting as pissed at me as I was at him.

I couldn't stand people like him, so righteous and self-justified. World isn't like that, punk. Do what you can for yourself and get by- if someone's stupid enough t let you use them, go ahead and do it. Besides, the humans here weren't worth the effort, the primitive sons of bitches.

I was about ready to snap at Antisocial when I heard a sneeze and a pitiful mew from behind me. "Can't you shut that damn flea bag up?" I snarled, turning t fix the kid with the deadliest glare I could manage.

He shrank away before muttering, "I think she's hungry. I found her in a box on the side of the road-"

"Why should I give a damn?" I growled, heading for the door yet again.

"Uh...mister?"

"What the hell do you want now, pup?" I felt him twitch. Stupid ass. Did he really expect me to not notice that he was a wolf?

"Uh...um...can...can you give me a ride home?" he squeaked. "It's raining, and I'm tired, and..."

"Shut the hell up. Where do you live?" I couldn't believe that I was going to put up with this whining bray longer than I needed to. Maybe my paternal instinct was kicking in.

The kid's eyes brightened. "You're seriously going to take me home?"

"Only if you tell me where you live and then shut the hell up," I growled, and turned to leave, the Kid hot on my heels.

"My name's Toboe," he offered as we reached my bike. "What's yours?"

"Tsume," I grumbled, and offered him my helmet.

Rhapsodic Melody- Well, what do you think? It's my very first one, so leave me alone!!! Not really, comment all you want. I know Tsume probably shouldn't have been the first person to have his view, but he's my favorite, and it made me sad that he died all alone, so here's his compensation.


	2. The Apartments

!DISCLAIMERS!

I still don't own Wolf's Rain, even though I loves it, and this probably isn't what the creators wanted to happen, but oh well. If you haven't seen all of Wolf's Rain, please don't read this. I'm not kidding. It'll ruin the whole thing for you. So GO AWAY YOU STUPID PEOPLE WHO WANT SPOILERS!!!!!

(On with the story...)

"This One is cold...so cold...." The girl opened up her blood red eyes and gazed out the window of the orphanage, shivering through her sweater. "Find This One...before the winter snow...."

"Cheza," came a soft voice, and the girl turned her head. "We have a new home for you. Do you want to meet your new mother?"

At first she didn't answer, then Cheza turned her head away, staring at the rain. "I'm waiting for you...Kiba...."

"Cheza." A blond woman that didn't look much older than Cheza smiled down at her. "My name is Cher. I'm going to take you home."

Somewhere else...

"Sir, we have the Wolves located."

"Where are they?"

"All in one spot, Sir...an abandoned building just outside city limits."

"Good. Hunt them down. The one I want is the White Wolf... the others are useless. Kill them or leave them, which ever takes less energy. But capture the White Wolf and bring him to me."

"Sir, yes Sir!" The soldier turned to the phone and dialed a number. "Special Units Eight, Commander Darshia orders you to capture the White Wolf, located in sector Seven, Coordinates Twelve Point Two Zero..."

**Kiba's POV**

I was still running. The rain was stinging my face, almost blinding me, but I didn't care. I knew where I needed to go, even if I didn't know where it was.

"Where are you going?"

I glanced to the side, where Hige was jogging along next to me. He had randomly blurted out his name when we were helping the cashier, and hadn't stopped following me since. "If you don't know where I am going, then why are you following me?"

"I've got nothing better to do- I just got evicted from my apartment and school's out. And I just got fired, too." We had slowed to a walk by then, and he had his hands in the pockets of his bright yellow hoodie. "Besides, I haven't met another Wolf since I've been here. Most don't like cities, ya know? Especially since the Special Units have been out."

I didn't answer, just kept walking. My hair was starting to cling to my face because of the rain, s I shook my head a few times.

"I know somewhere out of the rain that we can go," he offered, mahogany eyes steady as he gazed at me.

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Lead the way."

He led me to an old apartment that had a caution sign on the door and boarded up windows. Trees almost overcame the building, but all in all the building looked sheltering enough. Turning to me, Hige burst into a grin. "Pretty spiffy, eh? Trust me, pal- I know my way around this city."

"Why is it boarded up?" I murmured, standing in the sheltered doorway to get out of the rain.

"Something about a faulty support or something like that. I don't care-" He broke off and sniffed the air for a moment, then made a face. "Aw piss. Someone's here."

"Let's go," I grumbled, but didn't move. The rain was coming down harder.

Hige gave me a strange look, then stuck his head out and looked up at the sky, blinking through the rain. "Hate to tell ya, buddy, but I think it might be raining."

I snorted in disgust and leaned against the door before leaping forward as the door swung open. After staring into the apartment for a moment, I turned to glare at Hige, who gave me a mischievous smile.

"Oops...guess I accidentally turned the handle when you leaned back. Now the door's open...Wow...look at that nice, dry, sheltered apartment complex...not to mention that it's practically abandoned..." He looked at me with a sort of "don't deny yourself what you desire" look, then sprinted into the building.

I stood blinking after him for a moment, then smiled and went in after him. "Where are the other people?"

"They're Wolves," Hige answered with a shrug, then sniffed the air again. "And they have Red Bulls and Wendy's...a triple with onions, cheese, and ketchup...and chicken tenders with some too salty French fries and some ranch dressing dip on the side..."

I kept from drooling and repeated, "Where are they?"

"Upstairs."

"Then let's stay down here," I grumbled, and say down, leaning against the wall.

Hige gazed at me for a moment, then decided that making a point about the food would somehow change my decision. "They might have enough to share..."

"How many of them are there?"

"I don't know...I'm too busy thinking about the food." As if to prove this, his stomach growled.

"Weren't you eating a Big Mac at the gas station?" I sighed before tossing my beef jerky at him. I didn't need the food anyway (RhapsodicMelody: Yeah, right!). I had only gone to the gas station to follow the ass on the motorcycle. There had been something familiar about him...Maybe he had been one of the bastards who tried to beat me up in elementary school.

"Thanks, buddy!" Hige sat down and started gorging himself on the jerky. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Kiba," I mumbled, standing up. "Do you smell anything else?"

Hige sighed, then sniffed the air again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were only using me for my nose. Something smells like gas. You know, the kind of gas you put in cars, not-"

"I know," I growled. "Where's it coming from?"

"Out back somewhere. Who cares? It was probably just some pyro messing around after school. Want some?" He held out some jerky, but I shook my head. "Suit yourself." I stood and headed for the back of the apartment complex. "Where are you going?" Hige asked, standing up as well.

"To find where the gas is coming from." I caught a wiff of the substance and started to run. When I reached the yard in the back, I spotted the source of the smell hidden under a tree.

It was Jackass's motorcycle.

"What'd ya find?" Hige had finished off all the jerky by the time I got back. I hadn't even been gone for a minute.

"A motorcycle. Did you say that you smelled Red Bull?" I headed for the stairs to the second floor.

"Yeah-HEY! Didn't that creepy guy in the black leather with the yellow eyes buy some Red Bull?"

"He was on a motorcycle."

"He looked like a complete and utter ass. Do you know him?" Hige was following me up the stairs now.

"No." I glanced back and forth down the hallways when I reached the top of the stairs.

"So why are you...?"

"Sh." I strained my hearing and heard a soft mew from the right. "That kid's here, too."

"Do you know the kid?"

"No. I've never seen either of them before, but that motorcycle guy looks familiar."

"That makes a whole crap load of sense." Hige sighed in aggravation before cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling, "HEY KID! THERE'S MISSING SIGNS OUT FOR YA! YOU BETTER GET HOME!"

A brown haired head popped out from a door halfway down the hall. "Really?"

"Ain't to bright, huh?" Hige asked me with a grin.

"Where's the other one?" I asked the boy, glancing around warily.

"Who, Tsume...? I...I won't tell!"

I glared at him as Hige let out a loud impatient sigh. "Why?"

"You don't even know if he's here!" the boy squeaked in defiance, trying to sound brave. I could see him shaking, and the little part of me that felt responsible fr everyone woke up. The kid was obviously terrified.

"Why aren't you at home?" I asked, starting to frown. "I thought he was supposed to drop you off."

"He...he took me out to eat instead. And he's gone now, so GO AWAY!" The boy disappeared into the room.

"What the hell do you want, pretty boy?" Jackass scowled at me as he dropped from a hole overhead.

I didn't answer- I didn't know what to say. His yellow eyes were piercing into mine, daring me to do anything.

Hige glanced back and forth between us, then he shrugged and turned to Jackass. "Ya got anymore food?"

I didn't let my eyes move as Jackass turned to him. "What are you doing here, Porky? Do you follow anything that moves in the hope that it'll give you food?"

"Pretty much." The nonchalant shrug and carefree answer was too much for Jackass to stand.

Hige stumbled backwards in shock as the other, larger wolf lunged at him, and I promptly flung myself into Jackass. He went flying, not expecting the blow.

"Tsume!" the kid gasped, sounding terrified, and started to run towards him when a gunshot rang out.

I whisked my head around with a snarl and charged down the hall towards our assailant. Water droplets flew from my fur as I ran toward the man, who steadied his pistol and shot. The pain in my shoulder meant nothing to me and I leapt into him, listening with a sort of sadistic glee as he cried out. My fangs tore at his throat, and suddenly something was covering me. I snarled in rage through the net, and then a sharp ##### of pain on my neck caused me to stop.

I drifted into unconsciousness as the tranquilizer made its way into my bloodstream.

RhapsodicMelody: Well, whatdya think? The story plot is coming into motion...who's viewpoint should it be from next...? I dunno. But that triple...that's what I always get from Wendy's. Tsume and I have the same taste. Just joking. Read and review, and I'll love you!!!


	3. Protests and Trucks

**Hige's POV**

I grabbed the kid and ducked into a room as the gunshots rang out. Tsume was tearin' into these Elite Forces like it was nothing, so I figured we had better get out of the way. "You OK, pup?"

He was shaking as he gazed out at the battle, his pale brown eyes wide. "Why does this have to happen?"

"That's life, pup. Better get used to it." The door suddenly flung open and then I was staring down the barrel of a gun. "Aw piss."

Tsume's fangs tore into the soldier's shoulder, making the man cry out in pain. After a few violent shakes, Tsume sent him flying before glared down at me. "Coward," he snarled, blood dripping from his steel gray muzzle, and then he dashed off.

"Fall back!" the captain shouted, gesturing frantically. "We have what we came for, let's go!"

Tsume snarled and leapt at the crate where they were holding Kiba, muscles tensed beneath his thick fur. A soldier pulled out a knife and slashed, and then Tsume howled in agony and fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his blade as the soldier fled.

"TSUME!" The kid was by his side in a split second. "Tsume, are you OK?"

Tsume slowly stood, blood dripping from his muzzle. A gash was making a deep, jagged mark across his face, but I could tell that it didn't hit anything vital. I mean, are there even vital things in your face to get hit, except for maybe your eyes? "Bastards," Tsume growled, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Tsume-"

"Shut the hell up!" The kid shrank away as the other Wolf snarled at him. "Let's get the hell out of here before more of them come."

I blinked after them as they headed away, the kid following the Ass slowly. "Um, Tsume? They kinda took off with Kiba."

He froze for a moment, then started walking again. "Why the hell should I care?"

I jogged after him and stood in front of the stairway, blocking their way. "We can't just leave him! What do you think the soldiers'll do to him?"

Tsume's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you wanna help him, Porky, you might want to start following them. It would be a shame if they scared up his pretty face."

"He might be right, Tsume," the kid whispered, sounding smaller than he really was. "He could be in really big trouble-"

"Shut up Toboe! He's none of my concern."

"I wasn't any of your concern either, but you helped me." Toboe clung to the kitten tightly and looked up at Tsume in defiance. "And he wasn't your concern"- he pointed at me- "when you saved him. So why won't you help this Kiba guy?"

Tsume turned away. "Something about him tells me he's dangerous..."

I shrugged and put my hands behind my head. "I got that impression too, but something was different about him, ya know? Something that draws you to him..."

"You sound like you're in love with him," Tsume said dryly, still glaring at me. His wound had finally stopped bleeding, but he looked just as pissed as when he first got cut. "Go save your boyfriend yourself."

I rolled my eyes. He really was an ass. "Sorry, I'm completely straight, and I can't. Besides, you feel it too, that sort of strange, non-romantic attraction."

"Why can't you save him?"

"Because my teeth aren't cut out for that sort of work. And you know I can't fight worth a damn. Why else do you think I'm always running away? Besides, Kiba needs you."

Tsume sighed in aggravation. I was surprised he hadn't tried to rip my throat out yet. "If I try to save him, will you get the hell out of my way?"

"How else are you going to follow him?" I asked with a grin, moving out of his way. "I won't completely abandon you- I'll be a distraction of some sort."

"Good to know you can do something other than eat," he growled, and leapt past me down the stairs.

"Of course I can!" I said cheerfully as I followed him with the kid in pursuit. "How else could I have survived high school?" When he didn't answer except for an unimpressed grunt, I thought for a moment before adding, "You probably don't have much experience with school, do you? They probably kicked you out."

"I dropped out," Tsume snapped, then froze. "Sons of bitches!" His motorcycle was destroyed, glass everywhere from his windshield.

"You can probably run as fast as that thing could drive," I pointed out. "No worries."

"I can," he growled back, turning to give me yet another glare, "but how will you keep up, Porky? And the kid can't run that fast either." Tsume turned to the pup, who was trying to shield the kitten from the rain with his jacket. "You should get home, boy. This is too dangerous for you."

Toboe blinked through the rain up at him. "I...I don't have a home."

"Join the club," I said with a laugh. "How old are you anyway, kid?"

"Twelve..." he murmured, looking embarrassed for some reason.

"You really are a pup," I said with a shrug, sticking my hands in my pockets. "What about you, drop out?"

"Who the hell cares?" Tsume snapped in aggravation. "Don't we need to save pretty boy?"

"I almost forgot," I said with another little laugh. "His name is Kiba. And I'm Hige, by the way."

"Introductions can wait. Did either of you see which way they went?" Tsume covered the cut on his face with his arm. I betcha that thing was hurting like there was no tomorrow.

"I didn't see which way they went, but I can smell which way." I sniffed for moment, then came up with Kiba's wild, jerky smelling scent. "Let's go!" I took off to the East, Tsume and Toboe close behind me.

It didn't take long to reach where the soldiers had come to a stop. There was a protest in the streets over the increasing hold of military rule, and the truck with Kiba in it couldn't get through the crowded streets. And the soldiers were getting pissed.

"Get the hell out of the way! We have dangerous cargo!" The soldier that was yelling was waving his gun as he shouted. "Do you all want to die?!"

"Would Kiba really kill them?" Toboe whispered, staring at the mass of really pissy people.

"Nah," I said with a shrug. "He might kill one or two soldiers, but he'd leave the crowd alone. Waste of energy."

"Cause a panic," Tsume ordered Toboe, who looked at him like he was crazy. "Change into your Wolf form and scare the piss out of the crowd. I'll take care of the soldiers. You get pretty boy out of the cage."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" I demanded, pulling my hands out of their pockets. "I don't have the key or anything!"

"Find a way to break the cage." Tsume wasn't the most patient or understanding Wolf that I had met. "Now go!"

Toboe shoved the kitten into my hands and dashed down to the city, his scraggly little brown body looking remarkably out of place.

"He could get hurt," I pointed out.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." A scream of terror rose over the noise of the crowd. "Go!"

I ran after Tsume, waited until he had ripped off the first soldier's helmet, then dove into the truck. Kiba was sprawled out in the iron cage, eyes half pen with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Those were some strong tranquilizers. "Hey, Kiba!" I tapped his nose. "Wake up!"

His eyes abruptly shot open all the way, wild and terrified as he gazed up at me. "HIGE!"

"Take it easy, dude, I'm fine!" I had fallen backwards in shock and was feeling really stupid. "Those tranquilizers most do some weird things..."

Kiba's eyes cleared and he blinked at me in confusion. "Hige?"

"Yeah. I came to get you out of this thing, but I'm a failure so...I'll just cheer you on."

Kiba slowly stood and clamped his teeth on one of the bars on the cage, a low growl escaping from his throat. His golden eyes were burning with a very passionate rage. It was almost scary, hearing the screams outside, Tsume fighting, and Kiba chewing on the metal. Abruptly, Kiba let go of the bar and started slamming his shoulder into the door, shaking the whole truck. The bottom of the cage had been nailed to the floor of the vehicle.

"Bummer." I glanced around to find something to break the door open and burst into a grin. "Fire extinguisher- awesome. You're really lucky, Kiba."

"If I was lucky I wouldn't be in this cage."

"Wow, glad to see you're so optimistic." Taking the extinguisher, I started beating at the lock when Toboe stumbled in.

"Hige?" He wiped his mouth, which was trickling blood. "What's taking so long?"

"He's bolted down to the truck- what happened to you, Pup?" I hefted the extinguisher over my head, almost fell over, then hit the lock as hard as I could as Kiba threw his shoulder hard into it one last time. The door flew open and Kiba leaped out, still shaky from the tranquilizers. "No need to thank me."

"Let's go." Kiba leapt out of the truck, tearing into a soldier who was pointing a gun at Tsume.

I went to leave when Toboe grabbed my arm. "Where's Ame?"

"Where's what-a-what-a-who?"

"The kitten!"

"Am I supposed to know?" The kid blinked at my answer, changed into his Wolf form, and took off. "HEY! Where are you going?!"

Toboe vanished down an alleyway. I went to go after him, but was grabbed by Tsume. "Let's go, Porky."

"Wait! The K-"It was too late. I was being dragged away.

Boy, I hoped that kid was alright. I also hoped that Kiba had some more jerky on him.

RhapsodicMelody: Sorry it took so long!!! School and Driver's Ed and stuff...whew...I have up to chapter 11 written down in a notebook of mine, so....don't abandon this story!!!! Next chapter will add a new character, as well as some old ones that we all love...anywho, leave a review, and I'll love you!!!!


	4. Excuses

Disclaimer: If you hadn't figured this out already, then you must be pretty dense. I don't own squat, except for the original characters and the story that you will soon be reading.

**Toboe's POV**

I must have ran about ten minutes before I realized that I was alone again. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to run off, but I had to find Ame. She needed me- I had never really been needed before. It was a nice feeling and I didn't want it to go away. So I was running around a stinky, crowded city looking for my lovable ball of snowy fluff.

"Puppy!" A little girl ran towards me, eyes bright and arms outstretched. I skidded to a stop before I ran into her, and she gave me a warm hug. "Puppy puppy puppy!"

My tail started to wag and I say for a moment, glad to rest my paws. I had a feeling that I would be running a lot with Tsume and the others. I missed being cared about. The emotion always felt stronger when I was with Tsume. He acted all tough, but I could tell that he was really a good guy on the inside. I wondered what it was that could make him so bitter, then yelped when the girl tugged on my ear. (That really, really hurts.)

"Mika?" Another girl, this time older than I was, blinked down at me. "Come on inside, Mika."

I stared at her blankly. She was a Wolf, and definitely not one from the city. Something about her was more…alive than a normal Wolf. The Wolf-Girl flashed me a wink and closed the door after the girl. Even after the door was closed, I simply sat staring. Her eyes, even when I caught a glimpse of her Wolf form, were a deep, vibrant green…

Shaking my head, I walked off. I guessed I just hadn't been looking in the right places for a pack…

Agony shot up my right forepaw as a trap closed over it. I yelped in pain and started to struggle, terror setting in. Stories that I had heard about traps flooded my memory and I started to panic. There was no escape.

"Just a pup, eh?" An old man with a rifle gazed down at me, his black dog growling at his side, then sighed.

"Please, mister- help me!" I had changed back into my human form in my panic.

The barrel of the gun rested right before my eyes. I felt my body go numb as I realized that he had set the trap. "Abomination," he snarled, looking down at me with pure hatred.

I heard a soft meow and glanced to the left. Ame, covered in dirt and soaking wet, gazed out at me from an empty trash can. At least she was safe…

The dog next to the man snarled suddenly, blue eyes flashing to the right. A large, multi-colored Wolf fixed their teeth into the black dog's shoulder, letting out a blood thirsty snarl.

"BLUE!" The old man swung the gun to face the two Wolves, who were now fighting fiercely. Blood flew from the oddly colored Wolf's muzzle as she tore a gash in the black dog's leg, a yelp escaping from her mouth as the dog clamped her own jaws around her opponent's neck. The old man was aiming when Tsume knocked him over from behind.

"Hey, kid," Hige said cheerfully, sticking a crowbar into the trap.

"Hige! Am I glad to see you!" I pulled my hand out of the trap, nursing it against my chest. Glancing around, I felt confused. "Where's Kiba?"

"Tranquilizers still making him shaky- he's resting at an orphanage."

"Let's go," Tsume growled, picking me up and starting to run.

"WAIT! What about the other Wolf?" I looked over Tsume's shoulder and caught a glimpse of green eyes. A gasp escaped my throat, and then I was jostled around as Tsume dodged a gun shot.

"Can't save everyone," Tsume answered. "Sorry, kid." He started running again, barely dodging more bullets.

"BITCH!" the old man yelled. A gunshot and a yelp rang out, and then everything was still.

Hige shivered as small whimpers echoed through the streets. "Maybe we could have done something to help her…"

"She was gone when I stopped him from shooting." Tsune gently set me down. "Did you know her?"

"She saw me when I was looking for Ame." I licked y wrist, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. "There was something different about her…"

"It doesn't matter now—she isn't around to be different anymore." Tsume started heading towards the orphanage, hands in his pockets. "Let's go before that old bastard comes back to get us."

"Someone just died," Hige snapped. I didn't know he was capable of getting angry. "Don't you feel bad at all?"

Tsume kept walking. "Everyone dies at some point in time. Why the hell should I get all teary-eyed over some stranger who got shot? It was probably a quick death; she probably didn't feel any pain."

"She died for ME!" The outburst surprised even me; most of the time I was pretty quiet. "Wouldn't YOU feel bad f someone died for you?!"

"No one would," Tsume said flatly. "Let's go. We need to fix your hand."

Hige sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat, and then he turned to me. "He's right, Pup- come on, let's go." He followed Tsume, still looking like he thought he lost.

When we reached the orphanage, Kiba's face was pressed against a window sill. He kept taking in deep breaths, his eyes glazed over with thought.

"What are you doing?" Tsume demanded, grabbing a first aid kit and throwing it at Hige.

"A Flower was here," he murmured, voice thick. His eyes were now half-closed and he seemed to be drifting into another world.

"A Flower?" I repeated, letting Hige wrap my wrist. "OW!" A sweet, alien scent drifted towards me. It made me think about all of the happy ties I once had, when the sweet, woody scent of the fire and the wild, warm scent of my brothers surrounded me; when I caught that scent, even my paw stopped hurting, and it felt like a blanket of comfort was thrown around me.

"EARTH TO PUP!" I jumped to look at Hige, who was offering me a mug of hot chocolate. "You said you didn't have a home, right?"

"It's gone," I whispered, taking a sip of the cocoa. It made me feel good, but not as good as the Flower that Kiba was talking about. "The Elite Forces destroyed it."

"Do you have any where to go?" Tsume asked, sounding bored and unconcerned.

"No."

"That's what I thought." Hige stretched, looking pleased with himself. "Orphanage-Chick said that they would take you in."

"NO!" The hot cocoa burnt my legs as I spilled it. "NO! I don't wanna stay here! I wanna go with you guys!"

"I'm a drifter," Tsume said flatly, giving me a look that said "don't kid yourself". "I'm not letting some snotty-nosed brat come with me."

"I can't even keep my apartment, kid. No chance that I could keep both of us anywhere." Hige glanced at Kiba. "Where are you going?"

"Paradise." His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"Pretty Boy's high on his Flower, so he can't take you." Tsume glared at Kiba in distaste.

"I smell it, too," I said, watching Kiba closely for a reaction. His stormy eyes flickered in my direction, sharp and inquiring. "It's a strange, nice smell, that makes everything bad seem to vanish. You have a good nose, Hige- I know that you can smell it. What does it remind you of?"

Hige looked at me in shock. "WHAT?! How do you know that I  can smell anything?"

"You tracked Kiba." Something in me just had to justify that smell. "What does it smell like to you?"

"All I can smell is that dog from the alley-way, the one with the blue eyes. Damn scent won't leave my nose." He offered me a towel. "Might wanna dry off."

I took the towel and started drying my legs, my face turning red. "You have to smell it, Tsume."

"I don't smell anything," he snarled, tensing in anger. "Even Porky doesn't smell what you described."

"Liar." Despite its low volume, Kiba's voice was remarkably strong. "You can smell it, and you want to follow it. You know that it'll lead you to Paradise."

"What is this Paradise you keep talking about, pretty boy? I've never heard of it."

Kiba hesitated. "I don't know," he answered finally, looking slightly embarrassed, but his eyes were still full of conviction as he gazed at us. "I just know it's there, and that only Wolves can find it." He sat up and gently ran his fingers across the window ledge. "And I don't care what the hell you say. I'm going to find it."

Tsume snorted. "There is no such thing as Paradise. It's just something you dreamed up so that you could keep going, so that you have something to live for."

"But I can smell it, Tsume!" I looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to understand. He was proud, I understood, but he was being just plain stupid. There was definitely a scent.

"That just means that you're impressionable and as desperate as pretty boy is." Tsume stalked out the door without so much as a backwards glance.

"TSUME!" He didn't answer. My shoulders slumped and I felt like crying. Something about him had been so comforting and familiar that it hurt to watch him walk out the door. There went another person in my life.

"He'll be back, Pup, don't worry." Hige grinned and pointed. "He left his Red Bulls."

"And he believes in Paradise." Kiba was gazing out the window, face half hidden by his wild hair. "It's one of the few things he does believe in."

"You and Tsume are a lot alike," Hige told Kiba with a broad grin. "You both believe in the same thing…"

"And you're both 'pretty boys'," I added, and Kiba's face turned pale. "What are pretty boys, anyway?" I murmured softly to Hige, who burst out laughing.

Kiba turned away—I could have sworn that he was making a face of disgust. "I don't like being called pretty boy. Don't group me in with him. He's a coward."

"He seemed really brave to me," I said, surprised. "He wasn't afraid to fight any of the soldiers."

"The odds were in his favor," Kiba muttered. "The soldiers always fight the same way, and he knows he can beat them."

"So? I'm too afraid to fight them."

"You're also twelve years old, Pup," Hige pointed out, leaning back in his chair.

"What's your excuse?" I asked, seriously not understanding, and Hige fell out of his chair. "Are you alright?"

He was blushing as he stood up and put the chair back on its legs. "I'm fine, Pup. And, well, I can't fight to save my life. Well, I mean, my life maybe, but otherwise I'm useless in a fight."

"I could tell," I mumbled under my breath, and heard the chair fall over again. "But how does being good in a fight make you a coward? That just means he's really strong."

Kiba gently ran his fingers against the window ledge again, gazing thoughtfully at his own mug of cocoa. "He's afraid to try to find Paradise because he's afraid he'll fail and lose something in the process."

"What does he have to lose? He's a drifter, right? And his motorcycle was already busted up by the soldiers." I hesitated before setting my cocoa down and standing up. "I don't think you understand Tsume at all," I told Kiba. "Aren't you afraid to try to find something like Paradise? You don't know what it looks like or where it even is."

"I've been looking for it since before I can remember," Kiba said flatly. "It exists." And with that he returned to staring our the window.

I left the room to find Tsume and almost ran into a little girl, who was crying. "Are you alright?"

She looked up at me with a pair of familiar looking bright eyes, then sniffled. "Puppy…?"

My heart twisted. It was Mika, the little girl who had tugged on my ears in the alleyway. "Yeah, it's Puppy. What's wrong?"

"Mira…she went outside…and then there was a bang…and when I went outside…" She started to sob, her little body shaking like it couldn't hold in all the emotion. "Mira wouldn't move…"

I got down on my knees and held her, feeling a tear slip down my cheek. So the Wolf with the green eyes had been named Mira. She must have been the person who looked after Mika. "I'm sorry…so sorry…" I was being overrun by guilt; I knew what it was like to be alone, and now this little girl had to feel the same aching pain.

Eventually someone who worked for the orphanage came and took Mika away, leaving me alone, or so I thought. Tsume turned the corner of the hall and fixed me with his intense golden stare. "Stop looking so guilty. It's not your fault."

My hands were shaking as I quickly wiped my eyes. "Her name was Mira."

"What?"

"The Wolf who got shot in the alleyway. Her name was Mira. She looked after that little girl."

"Let me guess- you feel responsible for her death. It was her own damn choice. She probably knew that she would die as son as she jumped on Blue."

"Blue?"

Tsume blinked, then looked away quickly. "The dog had blue eyes, so I started calling her Blue in my mind." He turned his head to give me an angry glare. "You got something against the way my mind works, punk?!"

"N-no!" I took a step back in shock. "There's no problem, it's just…nevermind." I had been calling her Blue in my head, too, but somehow I knew that it was her name. It wasn't just a guess- it was the truth.

We stood in silence for a moment, me watching Tsume as he tried to look at anything but me. Finally, I got up enough nerve to break the silence. "Are you scared?"

Tsume glared at me. "You had it right, Pup- there's nothing for me to lose. And I'll travel with you for a while. There's no way in Hell that pretty boy will find Paradise. Even if he does, how will he get in?" He brushed past me. "Besides, he owes me money for the motorcycle."

-somewhere else-

"Can't you see? Get rid of the blindfold. You know him…why can't you remember?" Even though her eyes were still wide open, she couldn't see the silhouettes of the buildings or the soldiers surrounding her. "Please…remember…see…it's there if you look…"

"This is the one he wants?"

"Yeah. Started out white, then it turned to this." The leader of the Elites nudged her broken body with his toe. "I have no idea what the hell he's thinking, but I'm tired of playing dog catcher."

"Why don't we just finish her off?" A soldier pulled out his gun and aimed at her head.

"Do it and I'll blow your damn head off." The leader's hand gun was pointed at the other man. "Darcia wants her alive. And he'll get what he wants."

"Please…find her." Her vibrant green eyes closed.

-RhapsodicMelody: Heheheh…sorry that it took so long to update. I was just…yeah, slacking. But I really do have a lot of things written in my notebook!! Be patient, and ye shall receive!!! And thanks for all of the comments!! I feel so loved!!!!


	5. One O'Clock News

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain, though I would rape it if it was a tangible thing to be raped. I own only the story and the original characters…and…the bad writing. That's about it (sadly). Damn the story for having so many lovely lovely characters….

Hm…at this current point in time, I cannot find the notebook that I wrote the fifth chapter in…I have approximately three notebooks with After the Storm in it…but I can't find the flipping first one…. –searches some more- Ha! Found it! Actually story now…sorry….

Tsume's POV 

The rain had finally stopped. I was sitting next to the fogged up window, unable to fall asleep. Hige didn't have a problem- he was snoring like the pig he was only a few feet away. Idiot.

"You can smell it."

I turned to glare at Kiba, starting to bristle already. "Why won't you just shut up? I can't smell a damned thing. Go to sleep, Pretty Boy."

"I have a name."

"I don't care."

Kiba and I turned our heads at the same time as Hige's ass started blaring a song. Toboe yelped and tried to sit up, put too much pressure on his wrist, fell down and hit his head. Hige yawned, sat up, and pulled a cell phone from his back pocket. "You're so sexy…perfect for me…" he sang drowsily to the cell phone's jingle, then put it up to his ear. "No, Mom, I'm not getting laid."

I stared at him blankly. "You still live with your mom?"

"I'm with some friends- No, you haven't met them…Oh yes, Mom, I get high all the time." He said that part with a heavy dose of sarcasm, though I wouldn't have believed him, what with the way he acts… Leaning back, he put one hand behind his head. "Come on, Mom. I'm eighteen- that means I'm an adult…What do you mean by that! Just because I can't keep an apartment doesn't mean I'm any less of a- sorry, Mom."

"That's pathetic." I turned back to the window. "Next thing ya know, he's gonna be inviting us-"

"To my house!" Hige hopped up. "Mom wants to meet all of you."

"Really?" Toboe rubbed his head. "You're still in contact with your mom?"

"Actually, she's my old Science teacher, but she took me in when she found out that I didn't have anyone. She's probably worse than a real mom. But she says that we shouldn't be staying at an orphanage and that we need some real beds. So let's go!" He shoved his cell phone into his back pocket and headed for the door.

Toboe stood as Kiba, looking very hesitant, slowly followed Hige. "Aren't you coming, Tsume?" he asked when I didn't move.

"No," I said flatly. "Why would I go to Porky's house to meet his parents? It's not like we're dating or anything." I shuddered at the thought. "We aren't even friends."

"It's alright, Pup. Tsume should stay anyway. He might make my Mom think that I've joined a gang or something." Hige vanished out the door.

I was once in a gang…Something tickled the back of my mind, making me think of memories that seemed more like clouded dreams…What was I thinking? I'm a loner. Who needs someone, anyway? All the idiots do is get in the way.

I watched them leave before turning on TV to watch the news. Maybe I could figure out why the Elite Forces tried to capture Pretty Boy.

"Good morning, everybody. This is Gabi Saran with the one o'clock news." Her name really sucked for her line of work. Gabi? That's some sort of cruelty. "Top story tonight…er, morning….is about what is being called the Canine's Riot, which took place in Tokyo at four o'clock yesterday afternoon." Piss. "The riot was originally started by an extremist group known as the United Brothers who wanted to…'express' their displeasure at the soldiers' arrival in Tokyo. The soldiers claim to have had dangerous cargo, which has been as-of-yet unreleased to the media, but were having trouble navigating through the crowded streets. As the soldiers tried to calm the crowd, a wolf allegedly was spotted amongst the rioters. Mass panic erupted as two more large canines were spotted near the military truck. One was a steel gray color, the other was a rugged brown color." Piss again. "The animal spotted in the crowd has been described too many different ways to accurately describe him to the public. The government has issued a reward for a live capture of any of these animals.

"In related news, the religious cult who call themselves the Moon's Messengers have also issued a reward to anyone who can capture the creatures. They also claim that the animals will come to them in the knowledge that they can help them to Paradise. It is suggested that people try not to harm the 'Wolves', as the Messengers have threatened to brutally dismember anyone who harms a hair on the canines' heads.

"The Prime Minister has issued several tips to avoid any close and potentially dangerous contact with the animals-" Piss yet again. I went to turn of the TV after getting myself another Red Bull, but froze when Gabi said one word.

"Darshia,"-Where the hell have I heard that name before?-"Commander of the Elite Forces, is now issuing a statement on these creatures and the unstable political situation in the world. This is live from Kyoto."

My skin started to crawl as I gazed at the man on the screen. He had only one eye, which was a brilliant blue color, and long, dark hair. The one blue eye seemed to pierce straight through the screen to stare right at me. "Ladies and gentlemen of Japan." His voice sounded almost amused and was seething with charismatic arrogance. I could tell he was a self-centered bastard as soon as he opened his mouth. "I would personally like to apologize for the situation yesterday afternoon. The Wolves that were spotted yesterday are very dangerous animals that need to be stopped and captured at all costs. We were very lucky that no one was attacked or wounded by them during the riot. However, the government and military"- Since when have they been separate?- "would like to encourage that you continue living your lives as usual despite the situation of the Wolves and the situation that I am going to address at this time." Darshia straightened and returned to gazing out at me. "We have been caught in an international war that is sure to escalate to-"

I turned off the TV and stood. I had to find Pretty Boy, Porky, and the Pup. (RhapsodicMelody: Hey! They hall start with "P"!) Something about this Darshia bastard told me he had been the one who wanted to capture Kiba.

My nose may not be as good as Porky's, but I could still track them. They were waiting for traffic to stop so that they could cross the street, their outlines vaguely recognizable through the haze and lights of the city.

"Well well well. Look who decided to show up." Hige turned to me, smiling smugly. "What's wrong, Drop Out?"

"Darshia." The word came out of my mouth before I could even think to stop it.

Kiba's head whirled around. "What did you say?"

"Do you know who he is, Pretty Boy? He just made a statement on the news about us and the government has put out a reward for our capture. He was the one who sent the soldiers to capture you."

"Darshia…That sounds familiar." Toboe scratched the side of his nose as he thought. "Why would he want us? There are plenty of other Wolves out there…"

"Toboe wasn't the only one spotted yesterday. They saw Porky and me, too." I gazed sharply at Pretty Boy as he watched me with that same, passionate, unmoving look on his face. "You were the only one they didn't see."

Kiba stared at me for a moment longer, then turned away. "Let's get to Hige's house. We'll talk there." He crossed the street, hands in his jacket pockets.

Hige's "Mom" lived in a little one-story house close to the gas station where we had all met. It was squashed between two much larger buildings, making it look even smaller, and looked older than all of the other houses on the street. A cat-shaped welcome sign was hanging from the door, looking tiny and lost among the many flowers shoved onto the porch.

"I'm home, Mom!" Hige called, opening the door and holding back a huge dog.

"Hige!" A tall, slim lady with messy, wavy hair the color of the sunset ran out from the kitchen to embrace her "son".

"Come on Mom, you're embarrassing me." But Hige held on to her anyway, grinning from ear to ear. "Got any food?"

"Of course." She handed him a carrot, then turned to Toboe. "Aren't you the most adorable little boy I have ever seen!"

Toboe turned pink and gave her a meek smile, probably looking all the more cute. "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Hige, introduce them!"

Hige tossed the carrot over his shoulder. Even the huge dog that he was fending off seemed uninterested in the vegetable. "The kid's name is Toboe, the guy with the crazy hair is Kiba, and the delinquent in leather is Tsume. Guys, this is my mom."

"Just call me Mom, no need for Mrs. or Ma'ams or anything like that." She flaunted into the kitchen and brought out what looked like white sausages on wheat buns. "Anyone want some tofu dogs?" No wonder Hige was always so hungry. "They're fresh!"

"No thanks, we already ate." Kiba was trying to keep the dog from scratching up his pretty face as he spoke.

"Down, Custard, down!" Mom dragged the canine off of Kiba. "Guess what I found today, Hige?"

"A boyfriend?" Hige was eyeing the tofu dogs in obvious distaste.

"No, silly, something even better!" She ran into another room and came back with what looked like a giant lint ball. "Isn't she adorable!"

"AME!" Toboe ran over to Mom and snatched the lint ball away. "I was so worried about you!"

Mom glanced at Hige inquiringly.

"Long story, Mom. The guys and I are gonna go to my room, alright? Come on." He ran down the hallway and into a doorway.

Hige's room was smothered in clothes, about half of which appeared to be those stupid hoodies that he wears. The walls were covered in pictures of models and people that I assumed he knew. There was no bed, but he did have a clumsily covered futon with the largest, most drool stained pillow I had ever seen in my life. "Nice room," I said, sounding as bored as I was.

Hige shrugged, looking unfazed. "You've probably never had a house or a room, so it's understandable that you don't recognize this beautiful, tastefully decorated room for the piece of art that it is."

"Why are there half-naked girls on the wall?" Toboe asked awkwardly, making me chuckle as Hige turned pink.

"You'll understand when you're older. So what'd ya hear, Drop Out?"

I glared at him before leaning against the wall. "We're wanted by the government and some crazy cult. We'd better keep a low profile for a while, at least until this mess clears up. Lucky for us Japan is going to war and the soldiers should be discharged." I scratched the jagged scab on my face. Dammit. I should have dodged.

"Who is Darshia?" Kiba demanded, fixing me with one of those piercing glares. "What does he had to do with all of this?"

"He's some creepy-ass bastard with one eye who has some sort of standing in the military. I know he's the one who sent the Elites to get you." I stared right back at him. "Call it instinct or whatever, but I know this guy is after you."

"Why me?"

"How the hell should I know?" I turned away, making a face of disgust. Dumb ass.

Toboe scratched behind the kitten's ears as he murmured, "He wants to get into Paradise."

"What?" I demanded, probably a little harsher than necessary, and Toboe blushed.

"It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean…Kiba seems to know more about Paradise than anyone else. If you were trying to find Paradise, wouldn't YOU try to find someone who could lead you to it?"

"Kid's got a point," Hige said, putting his hands behind his head and plopping onto the futon. "But how could a human know about Paradise?"

"There's something wrong about him," I growled. "Something twisted and sick."

"We have to go," Kiba said simply, turning away, hands still in his pockets. "If we stay in one place, it'll be easier for him to find us."

"You mean, easier to find YOU."

Kiba turned to glare at me, then left. Damn him. He was still acting all self-righteous, even though it was his fault that we got into this mess. I HATED that.

Hige sighed and stood, stretching like he had rested well in the two minutes that he had laid on the futon. "He's right. Let's get going. You guys go ahead, I've gotta say good bye to my Mom."

"Come on, Pup." I turned to leave.

"Hige…tell…tell Mom to look after Ame. I don't want her to get hurt." Toboe gave Hige the kitten and scittered after me.

"Do you ever look after yourself?" I demanded, somehow irritated by his last selfless act. "It was a damn cat."

Toboe wiped his eyes, trying to hide his tears. "I like looking after other people, and Ame needs someone. Besides, she's so small and weak-how could she look after herself?"

I gazed down at him for a moment, thinking about the irony in what he just said, then turned away. "You're an idiot."

-Somewhere else…-

"Isn't the bath water cold, Cheza?" Cher asked, looking at the girl in shock.

Cheza simply remained almost completely submerged, startling red eyes half-opened and apparently unfocused. "This One is thirsty."

Cher turned and left for the kitchen, shaking her head. That girl was just so… She finished filling the glass with water, slowly heading back to the bathroom. What had she gotten herself into? Stopping in mid-step and almost dropping the glass of water, Cher stared at the tub, where Cheza was completely underwater and blinking up at her calmly. "Cheza!" Grabbing her arms, Cher pulled her up. "Are you alright!"

"This One is no longer thirsty."

RhapsodicMelody: I LIVE! Actually, I'm sorry about the delay. You see, I got a laptop. YAY LAPTOP! But, there is a dark side to this piece of hardware- IT CAN'T GET AN INTERNET CONNECTION. Which means that I typed up to chapter 10, and then realized that I couldn't do anything with it. So I finally got my own computer WITH the internet and am now sending this to you. I actually have up to chapter…29 written in my notebooks. Don't worry, there's still a lot more to happen, and there will be more Darshia and evil people. Also, I think we're getting close to where some of my original characters (who are actually important to the story) show up. Don't worry, I won't let them steal the show. I loves my Wolf's Rain boys too much. And that little part with Cheza was a little impromptu on my part. Just letting ya know that she's still alive. Until next chapter!


	6. Fish Fry

Disclaimer: Guess what? Don't own Wolf's Rain, don't own squat except for original characters and plot. Meh. Bad writing's all mine, too.

Kiba's POV 

We circled back to the orphanage so I could pick up the scent of the Flower. As we walked down the front hallway, where pictures of the children that had been adopted were, I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. One of the girls that had been adopted was the Flower.

Her pale silvery blue hair brushed against the soft line of her jawbone, a stark contrast to her ruby eyes. She was pale and slim, looking remarkably fragile and beautiful. Lips the color of the sunrise on the clouds were parted slightly, almost as though she had been in the middle of saying something when the picture was taken. What I wouldn't do to hear her voice…

"Something wrong, Pretty Boy?" Tsume's bitter, arrogant voice broke through my train of thought.

"That's her. That's the Flower."

Hige cocked his head as he gazed up at the photograph. "She's so pale…Do you think maybe she's sick?" He squinted, leaning forward. "I was expecting her to be more…green, ya know? Like a plant. She is a Flower, right?"

"She's pretty," Toboe murmured, gently pressing his fingers against the glass on the picture frame. "I wonder if she's lonely."

"She's been adopted." Tsume obviously didn't think much. Couldn't he see how special she was? "I doubt if she's lonely."

"She looks lonely. Do all Flowers look like that?" Toboe turned to me like he expected me to know.

"I don't know." I took her picture off of the wall and started opening the frame. "I've never seen a Flower before."

"So how do you know she's one?" Tsume demanded. I could feel his scowl burning into my back even if I couldn't see it.

"Ah, come on, Tsume! Have some faith!" Hige stopped and sniffed the air, upturned nose twitching. "Aw, piss. You know the old man and his dog?"

I sniffed the air for a moment, catching the scent of alcohol and dog that Hige must have been talking about. "They're here."

"Shall we scatter?" Hige asked, taking a step back as I stood.

"No. He's going to follow us no matter where we go. Let's find her scent and go." I stuffed the Flower's picture into my jacket and started calmly walking towards the room where I had originally caught her scent. Only Tsume would be able to tell that my muscles were tensed in anticipation. I was ready for anything.

The room was the same as when we left it except for where the remote was. Walking to the window sill, I lowered my head and drew in a deep breath, the scent filling me and making my head swim. It was sweet and wild, untamed and untainted, pure and welcoming, like the first snow in the mountains before the water freezes over. Lifting my head and feeling an overwhelming sense of loss, I closed my eyes and tried to find the next strongest place where the Flower had been. "The back door."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Hige hurried for the exit, looking nervously over his shoulder.

Toboe stopped for a moment next to the sill, took a deep breath, then regretfully followed Tsume out the door.

Walking through the doorway, I caught a wiff of dog, spotted a flash of black fur, and slammed the door shut. I managed to lock it before the dog slammed into it and started scratching and snarling. After breaking the electric box to the orphanage, I dashed past the others.

"Run," Tsume snarled at Hige and Toboe, then took off after me.

Toboe had just jumped the gate when muffled gunshots echoed from the orphanage and the door flew open, the dog racing ahead towards us. The old man ran after his pet, feet splashing up mud as he squinted after us.

I leaped on top of a one-story house nearby. "Run toward the sun," I ordered. "It'll blind him."

Hige followed me without hesitation, but Tsume stopped and turned after he was on the first roof. "Come on, Toboe!" he snarled, holding out his hand.

The Pup jumped and got a hold of Tsume's hand right before the dog got him. After he was safely on the roof, Tsume let him go and ran after Hige and me. Toboe sprinted after us, limping on his bad paw.

Screams started erupting from the buildings we were running across when the people realized that there were Wolves leaping above them. A security guard leapt in front of us, firing his pistol frantically. Snarling, I lunged and caught one of his arms in my mouth, making him spin in a circle before I threw him into a police officer who had just got up the stairs. No one else got in our way.

"Wait!" Toboe was panting behind us, now limping painfully on his bad paw. "I can't run that fast…" He stumbled, looking all together pitiful.

I waited for him as Hige and Tsume hopped off a building and hid in an old bomb shelter. Toboe practically collapsed into my arms, face twisted with pain, brown eyes glazed, and I ran off before the soldiers who had started chasing us could catch a glimpse of where we were hiding.

"Thanks," Toboe whispered, looking almost guilty as he slouched against he wall. "My wrist hurts."

"Nothing we can do about it now," Tsume snapped, glaring at him. He turned to me, yellow eyes flashing dangerously. "We need to get out of Tokyo."

"Do you know where Darshia made his speech?" I asked, placing my hands in my pockets so that no one could see me make fists. The scent was distant now, further to the West.

Tsume looked at m e like I was mad, then relaxed slightly, turning to gaze out of the shelter. "He was in Kyoto."

I unclenched my fists. Kyoto was west of us. "That's where we need to go."

"We leave at sunset," Tsume said simply and started to leave.

"Where are you going, Tsume?" Toboe scittered up onto his feet.

"I'm getting some food."

"Where, McDonalds? Because if you are, I want-"

"I'm hunting, dumbass." Hige's face dropped instantly at Tsume's sharp refusal.

"Oh, well…be careful, Drop Out." Hige dropped onto the floor, looking rejected. "What the hell can you hunt for in Tokyo, anyway? Only thing wild you'll find here is a handful of hobos."

I couldn't help but smile before I turned to Toboe, who was licking at his paw. "What happened to your bandage?"

"It…it was itchy, and I thought my wrist was better, so…so I took it off." He looked up at me guiltily, all wide puppy dog eyes and drooping tail. "I'm sorry."

I simply turned to Hige, who was leaning against the wall. "What are you wearing under your hoody?"

Hige gave me a strange look. "A t-shirt and a wifebeater. Why?"

"Give me your wifebeater."

Hige crossed his arms protectively over his chest. "Are you one of those sickos who rapes young boys? I know I'm hot, Kiba, but try to control yourself! I mean, Toboe's right there! You're gonna scar him for life if you-"

"It's to wrap Toboe's wrist." If he had been thinking, he would have realized that I was younger than he was. "And I don't rape young boys."

Hige turned pink, then pulled off his hoody. "Like the shirt?" It was red with white letters and a picture of a dog sniffing another dog's butt. The letters read "NICE TO MEET YOU". "Can't beat classic humor." He pulled off that shirt and his wifebeater. What I saw there I shall not describe to the masses, for fear…yes, fear…that it might scar you. "Merry Christmas." After I had the wifebeater, he scurried to get fully dressed.

"Is that really clean?" Toboe squeaked, looking at the wifebeater with distrust.

"Come on, Pup- our ancestors used to lick their own butts. A little dirt and sweat won't kill you." Hige was leaning against the wall again, his arms crossed behind his head.

Toboe sighed and held his wrist out. He twitched as I started wrapping it, letting out a small whimper. "OW!"

"Don't take this one off." I looked out to where Tsume had left. We were on the outskirts of the city, too far east for my tastes, but at least there weren't as many people. "Is anyone thirsty?"

"I could go for a rootbeer." Hige sighed when I gave him a somewhat unimpressed look. "Water's good- I've been meaning to go on a diet, anyway."

"Stay here." I left, listening for the sound of running water. When I finally heard what I was listening for, I cocked my head slightly. Something was splashing around in the water.

When I reached the stream, I stopped and stared blankly. Tsume was in the water in his Wolf-form, dripping wet, watching the stream intently. I glanced at the bank and found five good sized fish flopping around desperately. This wasn't really my idea of hunting, but it must have been working.

Walking to the edge of the stream, I knelt down and started drinking. The water was dirty and gritty tasted, and would probably give us worms, but I was so thirsty I didn't even care. Toboe was sure to complain, though.

There was a loud splash, and then Tsume came up through the water, a fish struggling in his mouth. He glared at me, set the fish on the bank, and shook himself off, succeeding in soaking me. "What are you doing here, Pretty Boy?"

I scowled at him, not in the mood for his bitterness. "I was finding water. The others ware thirsty."

He snorted and turned away. "You're the only one I see drinking." He waded out into the middle of the stream and waited for another fish.

Standing, I went to get Hige and Toboe. "There's a stream," I told them when I reached the shelter, "and Tsume caught some fish."

"Sushi for breakfast? That's something new." Hige stood up and brushed off his pants.

"Oh good! I'm hungry!" Toboe leapt up and followed me happily.

Tsume had just caught another fish when we all reached the stream. He climbed out of the water and shook himself off, sending water flying everywhere. Toboe giggled as the water hit him and then jumped into the stream, tail wagging as he lapped at the water.

"Anyone got a lighter?" Tsume asked, picking up some sticks and making a pile. "I'm assuming Porky likes his meat well done."

"Unlike some people, I work on carbs, not crazy little energy drinks that taste like monkey piss." Hige fumbled around in his pockets and brought out some matches. "Will these work, Drop Out?"

Tsume glared up at him. "If I'm ever starving and can't find any food, I'm eating YOU, Porky." The way he said it made it sound like more than just a pissed threat.

Toboe suddenly barked and leapt after a frog, sending water everywhere.

"Quiet down, Toboe- we don't want anyone to find us." I picked up some more sticks and threw them on top of Tsume's pile. "Hige, go clean off some rocks."

Hige blinked at me, a blank look on his face. "Um…why?"

"We'll put the rocks in the fire to heat them up and cook the fish on them," Tsume snapped. "Have you EVER been out of the city?"

"Nope." He picked up some stones. "You don't seem like the type to have been a Boy Scout, Drop Out. Kiba…well, maybe a little more likely." Hige started chuckling, amusement flashing in his eyes. "I guess you guys would've been CUB Scouts instead. Get it? Cubs?"

I kept my stoic expression, even though half of me wanted to knock Hige out for being so stupid and the other half of me wanted to laugh out loud. "Toboe, go find more sticks. Try not to get them wet."

Toboe clambered out of the water and shook himself out. He looked like he had just gotten out of the dryer at a laundry mat when he was done. "Alright, Kiba. I want my fish rare!" He dashed off, tail still wagging.

"Why would Darshia want the Flower?" Tsume's question made me blink. "You think he has her, right? That's why you asked me where she was."

I nodded and took some newly cleaned rocks from Hige. "I think Toboe was right- he wants the Flower to get into Paradise."

Tsume lit the fire, leaning down and blowing gently to get the flames going. "How does he know all these things about Paradise? Hell, I don't even think it even exists. How can you two be so sure?"

"It exists, and I'm not sure-" I broke off and turned to look at a man dressed entirely in red. I didn't know why I hadn't seen him before, and it pissed me off. "I suggest you leave- I really don't feel like killing you."

"I, on the other hand, have no problem with it." Tsume was tensed, ready to lunge.

The man dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead against the ground. "Forgive me, masters. I did not mean to anger you."

"What do you want?" I asked, still eyeing him suspiciously. If he thought bowing down was going to give him any more of a chance of getting away from us alive if he pulled some trick, I was sure Tsume would show him just how wrong he was.

"I wish to offer you a place to stay."

"No." Tsume's voice was terse. He meant it. "Go back to wherever the hell you came from."

The man hesitated, then looked at me hopefully. "Do you-" 

"No. Now go away." I turned back to the fire, listening for him to leave.

"We can help you find Paradise!"

"Bastard, listening in on our conversation." Tsume stood, eyes burning with rage. "Piss off, asshole. I'm about ready to rip your head off of your shoulders."

The man set a piece of paper on the ground. "Very good, masters. This is where you can find us." He hesitated, glancing from me to Tsume, then left.

Toboe stumbled over, trying to keep twenty some-odd sticks from falling out of his arms. "Someone, help me! These are heavy!"

Hige grabbed one. "Sheesh, Pup, can't you do anything on your own?"

"I don't like being alone, and taking one stick isn't helping much." Toboe tripped and the sticks went flying, one of them landing on Tsume's back as he stood.

The gray Wolf picked up the piece of paper that the man had left and tossed it into the flames. "Just the fuel we needed." Sitting down, he took the stones and started heating them.

Hige helped Toboe pick up the sticks, then plopped down next to me. Yes, he plopped. "So how are we gonna keep shaking off Gramps and his faithful companion? He seems pretty intent to catch us. Maybe he heard about the reward?"

"He tried to kill Toboe, and he's trying to kill us now. He doesn't want a reward- he wants us dead." Tsume flicked out a pocket knife and started to clean the fish.

"We just have to go over terrain that he won't be able to cross easily." I wouldn't allow myself to sit. My legs were itching to start running, like I've always done.

"Can we play like a fox and backtrack and stuff?" Hige wiped drool from his mouth as he watched Tsume set the first fillet on a stone. "Or should we act like ninja?" To illustrate his point, Hige took some strange pose and started making strange sounds that sounded like they came from a bad kung-fu movie.

"This isn't a game," Tsume growled at him. "You're the only one who hasn't been hurt, so of course you don't understand. To humans, the only good we are is dead."

Hige snorted. "And I guess you don't get the fact that there are more humans than Wolves in this little world of ours? YOU let yourself blend in pretty well- you rode a motorcycle and continue to drink Red Bulls. If humans hate us so much, and if you hate them, then why blend in? Shouldn't you be pulling one of those 'race pride' things and run around as a Wolf?"

Tsume glared at him, pulled the fish out of the fire, and promptly gave it to Toboe, who dug in. "I don't think you have any right to talk about fitting in- you call one of them Mom."

"Hey, leave Mom out of this." Hige was starting to look mad, or at least as mad as I'd ever seen him.

"Have you told her that you're a Wolf yet? Are you even planning to?"

"That's enough, Tsume." It threw another piece of wood into the fire, glad that he decided to listen to me for once. "This stuff doesn't matter. We're all being hunted, so we're all in this together."

"I like humans," Toboe said, swallowing the food he had in his mouth with a loud gulp. He started clicking his boots together at the toe, watching the action with a thoughtful look on his face. "They aren't much different from us; they just can't turn into Wolves, like we can."

Tsume tossed some fish at me, refusing to look me in the face. I took a bite, then shoved the entire thing in my mouth. Even if he was a complete and total asshole, he could cook.

Rhapsodic Melody: UGH! School has claimed my SOOOUUUL! I'm OK, though. Just tired. Very tired. By the way, I'm not an idiot- you can't really cook fish rare or well done or whatever, you just cook it till it's edible. Whatever. It was Toboe, come on. And Tsume was trying to make a point. Speaking of which- Tsume as a cook. Picture him with the chef's hat and an apron- and laugh. Do it. Cuz it's funny. Please leave me a comment! I feel so unloveded!


	7. Mysteries

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain…blah blah blah….yadda yadda yadda… And any grammatical errors, I don't care. My finger's broken, for Pete's sake…well…Kiba's sake. Or Tsume's. Yum Tsume…

Cher's Point of View Mysteries "They disappear as reality is rushing to the floor…" 

I bit my lower lip as I drove down the winding road to Hell. Darshia had named it that, and it was certainly fitting. I've never seen a more dismal place in my life. My heart tightened with guilt at the knowledge that I was bringing Cheza there.

Turning to face the girl, I forced a smile. "Why are you so sad, Cheza? You're just visiting my work."

Cheza shivered, tears forming in her scarlet eyes. "The Other Ones are screaming. Can you hear them?"

Frowning, I strained my hearing, but only caught the soft whir of my motor. "I can't hear anything, Cheza. Are they saying anything?"

"The Other Ones are scared and hurting. The Other Ones are so afraid that they cannot speak, only scream." She pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes. A tear made its way down her pale cheek; her body started trembling. "This place is so cold."

I turned on the heater. "There's a blanket on the seat behind you." She didn't move except for her trembling, simply sat staring at the dashboard. "What's wrong, Cheza?"

"They won't stop screaming. The Wolves are howling with them. They are as sad as This One is to hear the Other Ones cry." She lifted her head to gaze at the building before us. "The Other Ones are in this place, this cold, cold place."

I held up my I.D. to the guards and put the blanket over Cheza's shoulders. She was looking around now, eyes still bright with tears, almost as though she was looking for something. "What are you looking for?"

I barely caught the word. "Kiba…" 

"Kiba? Doesn't that mean fang?"

Cheza simply stared out the window with her unseeing eyes. "This One knows They are not here."

"Who is 'they', Cheza?" She was so hard to understand. I knew that she was insane, or at least so psychologically traumatized that she was something close to it, but the things that she said truly seemed to have some sort of meaning in them…

"Cher."

I gasped and turned my head to gaze at Darshia's terrifyingly beautiful face. "S-sorry, Sir. You startled me. Why are you…?"

He gazed past me at Cheza, who was cowering away from him, even as he started to smile. "Cheza."

"She's a little bit shy…Why did you want to see her so badly, Sir?" I took off my seatbelt and reached for Cheza's, surprised at how still she was. "The only thing truly interesting about her is the fact that she's completely insane."

"Come with me. Bring Cheza with you." He turned away, dark hair swirling around him like a lost shadow. Something about him was so romantically and tragically beautiful, cold and untouchable while still understanding and wise in a way that couldn't be explained…

"Yes, Sir. Come on, Cheza."

Darshia led us past the usual labs where I worked and opened a thick steel door. There was silence on the other side, complete and deadening. As his eye was scanned for entry, he started talking. "Have you heard about the Wolves seen at the Canine's Riot?"

"Yes, Sir. Three of them." I wrapped an arm around Cheza's trembling shoulders. Why was she so scared?

"What do you think of them?"

"Wolves aren't known to cause human deaths, and they should stick out pretty well in Tokyo. I think they're only a minor nuisance, Sir."

"What if I told you there were more than three?"

I hesitated. "How many more?" The door opened, and I gasped as Cheza hid her face in my shoulder, sobbing.

Row upon row of cages were lined on the wall, all containing Wolves of every shape, size, and color. Puppies, round and sad-looking, gazed at me with pleading eyes. Old Wolves, graying, blind, and toothless, sat still in the cages, lifeless and broken. Even the Wolves in the prime of their lives, young, sleek, and hauntingly beautiful, stared out at me with horrid despair. All were quiet, except for one at the end of the hall.

"She's new." Darshia strolled past me toward the cage where the angry barking was coming from, his footsteps breaking the silence. "Would you like to see her?"

"Why are…?" I gazed at the cage where the new Wolf was. She had curly fur of black, silver and reddish-brown, all a stark contrast to her flashing green eyes. Her lips were curled back in a snarl and there was a bare spot on her chest where I could see stitches.

"Someone shot her before we could safely recover her." Darshia had a crooked, cruel smile on his face as he gazed at the Wolf. "It's amazing she survived."

"Why are they all here?" I whispered, staring at her in amazement. "Where did they all come from?"

"Hayo."

"Yes, Sir?" An albino man in a lab coat came out of a door nearby, gazing at me thoughtfully from behind thin glasses.

"Show Cher the reality of this."

Hayo narrowed his creamy pink eyes at me as he smiled. "Of course, Sir. Please step back, Ma'am." I moved away as several soldiers came, all holding the poles with loops that are used to catch animals. "The Newbie, gentlemen, if you would."

Someone opened the Wolf's cage. She came charging out, a blur of colors, straight at Darshia, and would have had his throat had one of the soldiers not caught her around the neck. Snarling, she twirled, enraged, and charged towards him, only to be caught around one paw, and then another and another. Finally, every one of her limbs was caught and she lay prone on the ground, eyes flaring as she gazed up at all of the soldiers.

Hayo jabbed her with a pole until she abruptly changed shape. I gasped and stared down at her with wide eyes. She looked…human.

"Oh my God," I whispered, staring down in disbelief at her still figure. "She…"

"Wolves walk among us." Darshia knelt down in front of her, smiling his crooked smile. "It's a perfect disguise- like a Wolf in a sheep's skin. You don't know until they blow their cover."

I knelt down next to her as well, still not quite believing. "Can…can she talk?"

"Of course!" I jumped back in shock as she snarled at me, emerald eyes flashing. " 'First came the Wolf, and Man became its messenger.'" She thrashed against her binds, lurching the soldiers with her. "I have as much of a soul as you do! I can talk, I can think, I can feel…YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CONDEMN ME!" Tears flew from her eyes as she screamed the last part, lunging even harder against her ties.

I looked up at Darshia, who had stood silently, feeling my heart twist. She seemed to be right, if she had enough intelligence to argue in such a logical and emotional manner…

"This One is sorry…so sorry…" Cheza knelt next to the Wolf, shedding tears of her own. "This One is sorry you hurt." She reached out and gently touched the Wolf's cheek.

"Cheza!" But the Wolf didn't snap at her, simply let out a soft sob, tipping her head down in defeat.

"Run," she whispered, red hair covering her face. "RUN!"

Cheza stared down at her in shock. "This One does not understand…" 

"RUN! THEY'LL DO HORRIBLE THINGS TO YOU! GET OUT!"

Abruptly, all of the other Wolves began howling and crying, slamming into their cages and clawing at the walls. Several of them also changed into their human form, screaming for Cheza to run, to escape before "they" killed her.

"Put her away," Darshia ordered, seeming to be oblivious to the Wolves' distress. The soldiers threw her disjointedly back into her cage, slamming it shut and locking it. "They'll stop crying soon. They always do." He turned towards the door that Hayo came through. "Come along, Cher, Cheza. There's more that I need to show you."

My heart was pounding as I gently led Cheza into the next room, steadying myself on her slim frame. An orb, huge and filled with some kind of liquid, hung from the ceiling. Monitors were hooked up to it, blank because of the lack of a subject.

"Again?" Cheza whispered, staring up at it. "Again must This One sleep?"

"Yes." Darshia turned to me. "Cheza is to stay in that orb."

"How will she breathe? How will she eat? How-"

"Don't worry, Cher. She'll be safe. The substance in there is…shall we say…'fertilizer'." He smiled to himself, obviously amused. "My people will take care of her. I have something else I want you to do."

I hesitantly let Hayo take Cheza, who seemed as scared of him as she was of Darshia, before following my boss. He offered me a package, his one cerulean eye gleaming as he looked down at me.

"What is it?" I asked, turning it slowly in my hands.

"Open it. It's your new assignment."

Slowly, I pulled off the cloth that covered it and gazed down at the book. "The Book of the Moon?" I flipped through the pages, frowning slightly. "What is this?"

"The truth. Are you a member of any religious group?"

"No…This is a religious book?" I looked at the pictures, most of which contained Wolves and flowers. "This is the first religious book that I've ever seen with pictures in it…"

"It details where the Wolves come from and what they are looking for on this earth. I need you to read it and visit the cult known as the Moon's Messengers to get more information."

"Visit a cult! Sir, I'm not sure if I-"

His eye looked straight into me, power in its sapphire depths. "You WILL do it, Cher."

"Y-yes, Sir."

"Good. Now go talk to Hayo. He'll help your project get started." With a swirl of dark hair and whisper of mystery, Darshia was gone.

Author's Notes: Well well well…that should hold some Darshia freaks over for a bit. He's so creepy, but so…attractive…Too bad I'm a Tsume fan girl. I love mes a bad boy…ANYWHO! I'll try to update again, but…if my finger is as messed up as I think it is…It could be a while. AI LOVES ALL OF YOUS!


	8. Heroes and Hobos

Disclaimers: I am simply the author of this little fan fic. I own no characters, except for the ones that you don't recognize, such as…well, you'll see. I loves them, but I don't owns them.

Hige's POV

"_I would like to find a way to open to you_

_Been awhile, don't know if I remember how to…"_

Who knew fish could be so filling? Well, that and the Snickers that I borrowed from the gas station. One candy bar won't kill business. OK, so maybe I borrowed five, but I was gonna share. Kind of.

The sun had just started setting when Tsume growled low. "Hide."

Kiba easily slinked away before I could even blink. Tsume grabbed the Kid around the waist and tugged him into a secluded niche in the rafters. Nobody ever worries about me.

I spotted a pile of old blankets in the corner and hid under them. They reeked of mildew; I thought I was gonna barf. Making a little breathing space in the blankets, I peered out and caught a glimpse of the old guy and his dog. Great. I was screwed.

"Go and find them, Blue," the old fart growled to the dog, who put her nose to the ground and started sniffing.

Aw piss. She was heading right for me. Stopping about a foot away from me, she turned her head and gazed right at my hiding place. Her eyes met with mine, sharp and inquiring, and then she turned away and started sniffing somewhere else.

I couldn't believe it. Why hadn't she done anything about me? I was SO supposed to be dead. I knew I was charming, but not THAT charming. Something in me felt like leaping out and waving my arms and screaming, "HELLO OLD GUY AND DOG! HERE I AM!" And then that part of me committed suicide. No way I was gonna give myself away.

Blue whimpered and turned to the old man, looking pitiful and lost. He walked over and stroked her head. "That's alright, Blue….bastards must have crept off when we weren't paying attention. We'll get them tomorrow." He stalked out of the shelter, his dog at his heels.

Tsume hopped down after they were gone and ripped the blankets off of me. "What the hell happened?"

Toboe fell from the rafters and ran up to him, grabbing his arm and looking rather excited, despite the fact that his butt should have been broken from the force with which he hit it. "Tsume! Her name was Blue!"

"Big whoop." I stood up, heart still pounding. "The important thing is that I'm still alive. And I really don't know what happened….She just left."

"Is everyone alright?" Kiba appeared, teal eyes sharp as he glanced among us. Like he really cared. He'd probably be better off without us.

"Porky almost got himself killed because he doesn't know what the hell 'hide' means. That, or his fat ass won't fit anywhere…" Tsume glared down at me.

Maybe this was my punishment for the Snickers. "Hey, neither does the Kid."

"The Kid also happens to be twelve. YOU are older than both Pretty Boy and me." Tsume turned away in disgust, acting like he made some sort of wonderful point that was supposed to make me see the error of my ways. "Let's go."

"Just because you two were in Boy Scouts doesn't make you guys any better than I am." The thought of Tsume and Kiba dressed in Boy Scout outfits made me want to laugh as I followed them out of the shelter. "Aw man. I hate walking out into the sun."

"Me too." Toboe sniffed, walking along behind Tsume, who started jogging. "I hate running, too."

"I like nachos, though." Yeah, Hige, try to think positive.

"The cheese always tastes fake." Wow, Toboe does complain a lot.

"You need to be grateful, Kid—there's some hobo on the street who's dying of hunger while YOU eat nachos with fake cheese."

"Shut up." Tsume turned his head to give me a glare, somehow managing to dodge a random tree without turning around. "A hobo on the street? What the hell are you talking about?"

I smiled at him cheerfully; I loved how this got on his nerves. I think it was really my favorite part of the day. "I'm telling the Pup about the facts of life—there are those of us who eat cheese-y nachos, and those of us who become the cheese on those nachos."

"What?" Toboe demanded, starting to sound angry.

I turned my grin to him, since Tsume had turned away from us again. "That's why the cheese always tastes so fake—they melt hobos and put it on the nachos."

"You're lying! Why is it yellow if it's melted hobos?" He must have believed me at least a little to have asked me about it further. Score for the Hige.

"Hobos live on mustard, Kid! Sheesh, where have you been?"

"Tsume, tell Hige to shut up! He keeps lying to me!"

"So ignore him and tell the clerk the next time you see him steal Snickers bars." Tsume kept jogging, one step behind Kiba, who was doing a fairly good job of ignoring us.

I looked at Toboe in shock. "You saw me steal them?"

"Yes." He pouted, obviously trying to make me feel guilty. "I was gonna ask you for one, but you ate them all."

He failed. "Even the wrappers."

"Stop lying!"

"No, seriously—I ate the wrappers."

"Tsume!"

Sheesh. He believes me about melted hobos, but not about eating the wrappers? I seriously ate them, too. I just sort of assumed that since there wasn't a trash can, it was the easiest way to get rid of them without Kiba and Tsume chewing out my ass.

The moon was up before Kiba stopped next to another stream. "Rest up for a moment. We'll keep going after a few minutes." He knelt down to get a drink.

Tsume glared at me. "Did you eat all of those Snickers?" He must have been missing those Red Bulls that he chugs so often.

I burst into a grin again, despite the fact that I was completely exhausted. "Aw, does Drop Out have a sweet tooth?"

"Not for me, idiot. For the Pup." He pointed over his shoulder, where Toboe was stumbling towards us.

"Nope, I ate them all. Even the wrappers."

"You're more of a goat than a pig." Tsume leaned down for a drink, looking incredibly annoyed.

Toboe collapsed next to me, panting. "You guys run too fast."

"Go get a drink, Pup, you'll feel better." I stretched and went to lap at the stream myself. "This water tastes better then the water we had before."

Toboe dragged himself to the water and started drinking, his chin in the water as he sprawled on his belly. "It still doesn't taste very good. We're probably gonna get sick from it."

Tsume sighed in annoyance, stopping his own lapping to turn and gaze at the Pup's prone figure. "Do you have to complain about _everything_? It tastes better than Red Bull; there's not much more you can ask for in life."

I stretched again, glancing at our very silent and very stoic travel companion. "You've been awfully quiet, Kiba. Something wrong?"

He glanced back at me, though his face still had no emotion what-so-ever. "There was a pack of Wolves here before."

"So?" I scratched the back of my head, suddenly feeling a severe itch.

"They were here three days ago, when I first came to Tokyo."

"That's when I got to Tokyo." Tsume glared at Kiba, who refused to make eye contact and simply continued to scan our surroundings. "Are you stalking me or something, Pretty Boy?"

Kiba briefly glanced at him before looking away. "I was following you. You looked familiar."

Tsume looked like he was going to be sick. "What the hell…You got a crush on me or something? Sicko." He turned away in disgust. I had no idea that he was so homophobic. With the way the Pup constantly clung to him, you'd think that maybe he was the opposite….

"There was a struggle."

"There's going to be, if you—"

"No, between the Wolves and whatever happened to them."

"How do you know?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him as I scratched my chin; I hoped I didn't have fleas.

"Look." Tsume and I walked over to Kiba and looked at where he was pointing.

Several bodies were sprawled on the ground, flies buzzing around them. They had to have been there for at least two days. I guess Kiba had been lucky.

"No sign of what got them," Kiba murmured softly, face still expressionless.

"Then let's get out of here before it gets us," I suggested, turning around and freezing. "Aw piss…Kiba? I think I know what got that other pack."

"What?" He turned and starting snarling.

"Toboe, run!" Tsume yelled, charging towards him, pushing me out of the way and almost making me fall over.

Toboe stared at the soldiers in horror, taking a few steps backwards. Tsume tore into one of their throats, soon followed by Kiba. The Pup turned and ran to me, eyes wide in terror. "Hige!"

"Hide with the bodies, Kid." There was no way that Kiba and Tsume could take all those guys on. "I'll catch up with ya in a second."

Toboe and I ran in opposite directions, me towards the fray, him towards the body. My teeth met with the unfamiliar sensation of human flesh and I almost let go, but instinct told me to hold on. The soldier was flaying desperately, trying to get me off of his arm. I caught sight of another soldier aiming his gun at me and let go. His companion was riddled with bullets before he could think to stop, and then Kiba bit the back of his neck. He collapsed without a sound.

Tsume was having some problems with a few soldiers—guess I had to go and play hero. I knocked over one soldier so that it ran into another one, hoping that they wouldn't stand up and fill me with lead as I ran. The distraction was all he needed. Before I could blink all of the soldiers were dead. Tsume gave me a strange look. "What are you doing?"

"Fighting. So much for me being a coward, huh?" I gave him a crooked grin. I really felt like I was going to throw up.

"Where's the Pup?"

"Hiding with the bodies—I figured that if we all died they wouldn't look there."

Tsume nodded, still giving me a strange look, then turned to help Kiba. The soldier dropped a net on him; snarling and thrashing, Tsume tried to break the net before the butt of a gun hit his head. I never really thought that anyone could beat Tsume. And he was right. I guess I really hadn't thought this was real.

A soldier aimed his gun at me. My mind was screaming, "RUN YOU IDIOT! IF THAT GUN SAYS BANG, YOU'RE DEAD!" but my legs wouldn't move. Aw piss.

Blood shot from the soldier's arm as a dark blur raced by. He screamed and dropped his weapon, clutching his wound. The blur raced over to where the Forces were surrounding Tsume, sending more blood flying as it wounded the soldiers. Whatever it was, it seemed to be on our side.

Kiba finished off his opponents and whirled around to face the blur, who happened to be a very tall, very pissed looking guy with a knife and flashing blue eyes. "Who are you?" Kiba growled, eyes narrowing.

The guy frowned and turned away, heading for where we saw the bodies. "Get up. Show some respect for the dead."

Toboe scurried out and gazed up at him in wonder. "Thanks for helping out my friends."

He simply turned to look back out at the bodies. I couldn't see his face, but I could practically feel how emotion he was. My feet slipped and I plopped onto my hiney, staring at him blankly. This guy was really…creepy…

Toboe glanced from the guy to the corpses to the guy again. "Um….Mister? Did…did you know them?"

At first he didn't answer, then slowly nodded. "They were in my pack."

"I'm sorry," Toboe whispered, lowering his head.

"What's your name?" Kiba asked, looking at him suspiciously and tensing. Obviously he didn't trust the Blur.

The guy glared back at him. "Who are you to ask my name?" Abruptly, he turned back to the bodies and changed into a Wolf before starting to dig. He was a BIG Wolf with pale gray hair that shot out in every direction. He was DEFINITELY not a City Wolf.

"What are ya doing?" I asked, scratching my arm. I so needed a bath. He didn't answer, just kept his crazy digging.

"TSUME!" Toboe ran over to his unconscious form, looking like he was going to panic. "Tsume, wake up!"

"He got hit in the head with the dude's gun," I said, pointing to one of the soldiers. "Don't think he's gonna wake up for a while, Pup." THUNK. "What are you doing!"

"He's burying the dead." Kiba walked over to Tsume and sat down. "We can't go any farther tonight- try to huddle together. It's gonna be cold tonight."

"It's almost fall—better hurry and find her." The guy finished burying another corpse and was heading for the last one when Kiba stood in front of him. "Get out of my way."

"You know where she is."

The guy refused to even blink. "Get out of my way."

"You're seen her before." Kiba took out the picture of the Flower and shoved it in his face.

He was a broken record, a very pissed broken record, but still a broken record. "Get out of my way."

"Why didn't you follow her? You could have reached Paradise!"

The guy slapped the picture out of Kiba's hand and shoved him to the ground. "Paradise wouldn't open to me. It won't even open until it's the right time." He stepped over Kiba and headed towards the body.

Kiba grabbed and threw him. The guy landed on his feet and snarled, wild fur sticking straight up. This was turning out to be worse than Tsume and Kiba's little fights. "Where is she!" Kiba demanded, not looking the least fazed by his rather terrifying opponent.

The guy growled and slowly started walking around Kiba, eyes flashing. "I'm not going back there. Find her on your own."

Kiba followed every one of his movements. "Where won't you go back to?"

The guy froze and stared at Kiba, his eyes looking like ice. "Hell."

"What?" Maybe now wasn't the best time to interrupt, but this guy was crazy. "Hell? Who's been to Hell?"

"I have," the guy snarled, whirling to glare at me. "That's where the Flowers are. That's where they took the rest of my pack."

I scratched my back, hating everything small and parasitic. "How does someone go to Hell? And how do you come back?"

The guy started digging. "I'm not going back."

"You'll leave your pack there to die?"

The guy froze, then slowly turned to look at him. "They all died when we tried to escape. There's nothing for me."

"So why not try to find something?" I asked, laying down. "Wolves are social creatures, ya know."

The guy kept digging, refusing to look at me. After a long silence, he growled, "I'll lead you there, but then you're on your own."

"Thank you." Kiba gazed at him for a moment, then turned and say next to Toboe, who was gazing sadly at the guy.

"He seems so lonely…"

"Better leave him alone, Pup." I scratched behind my ear, scowling. "Can we stop at a Holiday Inn or something? I seriously need a bath." I grinned at the Pup. "And maybe we could get some nachos."

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait. I, at the age of sixteen, was able to go to Japan! dies of joy It was wonderful. Anyone who has the chance to go, do it. Everyone is wonderful. Any Japanese reading this, you are an awesome person by default. Anyways, I might upload another chapter right after this. Enjoy while you can. AND COMMENT!


	9. Brief Reprise

Disclaimers: I do not own any of these uber cool characters, but I do own this plot and the original characters…like…Kuro. And there shall be others. Oh yes, there shall be others.

Toboe's POV

"_I'm sick of it_

_Every time I say goodbye, I wilt." _

When I woke up, Tsume was still asleep, but now there was something wrapped around his head. Had he been bleeding? Sitting up, I felt a blanket slide away from me and I stared down at it blankly. We hadn't had a blanket before…

Kiba knelt down by Tsume and briefly touched his cheek, then turned to me and offered me a candy bar. I took it, confused.

"Where did all this stuff come from?"

"Kuro." He stood and glared at Hige, who was snoring and scratching his butt in his sleep. "Stay away from Hige. He has fleas."

I slowly opened the candy bar, starting to drool. "Who's Kuro?"

"The Wolf from last night."

"How'd you learn his name?" I took a bite of the candy bar and savored the flavor before digging in. It had been so long since I had chocolate… I froze in mid-bite. Isn't chocolate poisonous to dogs? Shrugging, I started eating again. Hige ate five bars, and he wasn't dead.

"He talks in his sleep." Kiba stood, brushing off his pants. "Get me as soon as Tsume wakes up."

"Where are you going?"

"To find the old man and Blue."

"What if someone comes?"

"Kuro's over by the graves. He'll chase anyone who comes away." Kiba ran off.

I went to take a bite of my candy bar before realizing that I ate it all. Standing up, I wondered what to do with the wrapper. Maybe I'd give it to Hige. HE said that he eats them.

Kuro walked over and flipped out his knife. He didn't look that scary, in the daylight, until he flipped out that blade. "Where's Kiba?"

"H-he's out looking for the old man and Blue." When he gave me a strange look, I blushed and looked down. "They've been following us for a while- that's why my wrist is hurt."

He slowly nodded and glanced at Tsume. Leaning down, Kuro gently touched Tsume's cheek, shrugged, and stood.

"Why are you and Kiba always touching Tsume's cheek?"

"Check for a fever," he said simply, and started to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To get a bandage for you wrist." He kept on walking.

"It's OK for now…" Kuro ignored me and kept going. I kept my distance behind him; that knife was absolutely terrifying. And the way he kept flipping it in and out of its sheath was really scary. "Why are you being so nice to us?"

He didn't answer, just kept walking. He wasn't much of a conversation partner, but I was just happy not to be alone. He could look after Tsume- I wanted to get to know Kuro. I just hoped that he didn't give Tsume fleas.

"Thank you for saving us last night. I know that Kiba didn't say thanks and that Tsume won't. You were really brave."

He glanced back at me, making me slow down for a moment. "You talk a lot."

"When I was alone on the streets, I used to talk to myself to try to keep from getting lonely." I smiled up at him, still trotting along at his heels. "Now I'm just happy to have someone to listen."

Kuro slowly nodded and knelt next to a stone. He dug for a moment before an opening showed and he slipped in, silvery gray fur collecting bits of dust as he did so. I stood, blinking down after him, when his face popped out. "Are you coming?"

"Oh- yeah!" I slipped into the opening and landed face first on the dirt floor. "OUCH!" He could have at least warned me that it was such a short drop…

Kuro turned away and rummaged through a drawer. "Show me your wrist."

I really wished that I could see where his knife was. Slowly, I held out my wrist. "Kiba wrapped it with Hige's wifebeater before he got fleas, but I still don't think it was very clean…"

Kuro snorted and unwrapped it, making me twitch. It was still really sore, and I told him so. "Get over it."

"But it really hurts!"

He tossed Hige's wifebeater over his shoulder and started pouring something over my wrist. It smelt horribly, and stung terribly; tears started in my eyes and I let out a whimper, squirming. Kuro gave me another strange look and took out a clean white bandage. "You don't even try to hide the way you feel."

"Nope- why would I?" The bandage was crisp and clean feeling.

"People will use your emotions against you." He tied the bandage and turned to another drawer.

I rubbed my wrist and wiped my eyes, letting out a sniffle. "Do you hide how you feel?"

Kuro didn't answer. Turning, he tossed a water bottle at me and plopped into an old looking chair in the corner. His dark hair fell partially in his face as he curled up, letting out a soft sigh. He looked so sad, curled up all alone in that corner. I knew that he had to be thinking about his old pack.

"You could join our pack now, if you want." I watched him helplessly from the corner of the den. I wondered if he felt as lonely as I used to feel.

"You four aren't a pack, not yet." He turned his head to gaze at the top of a drawer. "You don't trust each other at all."

"I trust them." I don't know why I felt the need to defend our little group, but it seemed like Kuro was being unfair. We only met each other a day or two ago, though it seemed like we knew each other for a lifetime.

"One person isn't a pack."

"Do YOU trust me?"

He didn't answer, yet again, then reached over and grabbed the picture.

"Guess not…" I murmured. There was a silence. "Why do you have that white spot on your chest?"

He didn't respond (SURPRISE!) but started a tiny smile. It was the first time I had seen anything like happiness on his face.

"Is it just a spot you were born with?" Something about that mark reminded me of something very far away…something like a dream you had when you were little that changed your life in a way that you can't describe. "Or did it get burnt, or…"

"I've always had it." He set the picture in his lap and kept looking at it. "A Wolf that I met with green eyes told me that it proves my heart is pure, or something like that." Kuro glared up at me. "She was suffering from blood loss. It was mindless prattling."

"Green eyes?" I repeated, my heart starting to pound. "When did you meet her?"

His eyes grew cold and he tensed. "On the way to Hell."

Every time he said that word I felt like crying. What could be so horrible in Hell to make Kuro so…distant? "What do you see in Hell? What happens?"

Kuro stood up and put the picture away, grumbling something about how Kiba was sick for leading a pup to Hell. "Go get Hige and Tsume. The old man is coming."

"How do you know?" I jumped and whirled around as Kiba leapt into the den.

"He's coming. We have to run." Kiba's eyes met with Kuro's. "You're coming with us."

"Let me kill him." Kuro said it plainly and simply, like he didn't know any other way for things to happen.

"NO!" I looked at him in a mixture of shock and horror. Killing people is wrong, no matter what they did to you. "He hasn't even SEEN you…"

"He would shoot at me anyway." Kuro didn't even turn his head to look at me. "Is he a soldier?"

"No." Kiba turned away. "He's an old man who has nothing left to live for. Don't kill him."

Kuro started to growl, but followed Kiba out anyway. I skittered after them, hoping that Kuro didn't try to kill the old man. The sunlight burnt my eyes when we emerged from the den, but I could clearly see a figure in front of me. A smile spread across my face.

"Tsume! You're alright!"

"Let's go," he growled, glaring at Kuro. "Who are you?"

Kiba turned to Kuro. "Which way should we go?"

"West." Kuro looked at Hige in disgust as the other Wolf scratched frantically at his ear.

"Hey, if ya got an itch, scratch it." Hige grinned crookedly at us. "Don't run off again, Kid. We didn't know where—"

Kuro slammed Hige to the ground as the old man fired at us, appearing from nowhere. "Shut up and run."

Blue lunged at Tsume from the side. Tsume's eyes flashed and he sent her flying.

"Come on, Tsume!" I beckoned at him desperately, but Blue wouldn't leave him alone. There was no way that Tsume would get anywhere with her attacking him, and I was scared that he would hurt her. Swallowing hard, I forced my legs to move; everything was a blur flying past me as I charged towards Blue. She was in mid-leap when I hit her. Something about flinging myself into harm's way for Tsume seemed mildly familiar, and I had the sense that I should have died before…

"Toboe!" Tsume snatched me away from her before she could recover. "You idiot—What the hell were you thinking!" He seemed kinda scared.

"Y-you couldn't run if she kept attacking you…I wanted to help." It only then hit me that I had actually put myself in danger. It had seemed like it was nothing more than a memory from before. "That was really scary, Tsume."

I'm glad that I wasn't expecting him to comfort me. "Stop complaining and run." We had caught up with Hige, who was at the back of the group. Tsume easily passed him and caught up with Kiba and Kuro.

Hige glanced at me. "You didn't hurt her, did you?"

"I'm too weak. I couldn't hurt her if I tried." I wished I hadn't hit her so hard. My wrist was hurting again. "Do we have to run so fast?"

A bullet hit right behind us. "Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea to keep at this pace." Hige continued to run. He wasn't running like he normally did—most of the time, it was more of an energetic waddle. Now, he was actually running, like trotting along at a fast pace. "Come on, Kid! Get moving!"

"I'm tired!" I really was. My adrenaline rush from before was gone. I wasn't as strong or fast or brave as they were. Why did they keep pushing me like this? They knew I couldn't keep up…

I wasn't expecting the drop. I didn't even know that I was running up hill, though I guess that would explain why I was so tired. A yelp popped out of my mouth as I went flying down the hill, Kiba, Kuro, and Tsume white and gray blurs as I flew past. "OW!" My head hit a sign when I reached the bottom; pain wracked my head and wrist. Did any of them care?

"What's it say?" Tsume demanded, glaring at the huge half-buried sheet of metal after glancing at me. I guess that was as much concern that HE was going to show.

I scooted out of the way and turned, rubbing my head with my good hand. "There's dirt all over it. It'll take forever to clean it all off."

"Shut the hell up." Tsume started scratching at the caked on mud, throwing the chunks in every which way.

Kuro nudged past Hige and looked at Tsume, unimpressed. "Stop."

Kiba glanced at me, looking mildly concerned, then looked back up the hill. "They aren't following. We should keep moving."

"We could just roll the Pup, he moves faster that way." Hige knelt down next to me and grinned. "You alright, Pup?" He scratched his butt again. I didn't know that you could get fleas on your butt.

I scooted back a bit before answering. "I'm alright."

"Stop," Kuro repeated, sounding annoyed. "You're wasting your time."

"What does it say?" Kiba asked Kuro, eyes sharp.

"Like he knows." Tsume stopped and wiped off his hands. The word was in big capital letters.

HELL


	10. The Book of the Moon

Disclaimer: I STILL DON'T OWN IT! Why do I even put these things up here?

Kuro's POV

"_On no, this is probably also a parody_

_And to a stranger, definitely a fake story…"_

It was quiet then. Kiba was sitting against the sign, looking at nothing, thinking, as always. Tsume was sipping on a Red Bull, glaring at Hige, who was snoring and scratching. Toboe was curled up close to Kiba, sleeping soundly. I was wishing that I was somewhere else. No one wants to go to Hell, especially if they'd been there before.

I stood up, restless. Even though I should have been sleeping to save up energy, my body just wanted to move, to get away from where Kiba had us going. Why the hell I was following him was a mystery, even to myself. Yes, I could smell the Flower, but any Wolf who had been in a pack knew that here was only one Wolf who could open it, if he had the Key. Whatever the hell THAT was.

"Did you see her?"

I turned to glare at Kiba. "She wasn't there when I was."

"Did you see any of them?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsume crushed the Red Bull can in his hand, looking at us in annoyance. I liked him much better unconscious. "Them? I thought we were after ONE Flower."

"There is more than one Flower there." Kiba was watching me closely. "Why?"

"One reason they call it Hell." I started walking away, refusing to look at them.

"Where do you think you're going, Spot?" Tsume growled, tensing.

I ignored him and kept walking. Like I would tell him the time of day. The can of Red Bull hit the back of my head and I felt my eye twitch. "Don't piss me off."

"Don't blow me off. Where are you going?" He was following me now.

"Why the hell do you care?" My foot hit something. Glancing down, I saw one of the damn trackers that the soldiers use, but it didn't smell like a soldier. Leaning down, I gave it a quick sniff. It smelt like a Flower.

"What the hell…?" Tsume sniffed at it as well. "It doesn't smell like a soldier."

I glanced down at the obvious footprints. Whoever dropped the thing was a moron. I knew what they were up to.

"Let's go." Tsume started following the prints, tossing the tracking device aside.

"You really are a damn idiot."

Tsume glared at me. "You got a damn death wish?"

"They want us to follow them."

Kiba nudged Toboe. "Wake up."

"I'm tired." The pup pouted and rolled away. I felt almost sorry for him, so small and unassuming, but he tried so hard… "I haven't even had two hours of sleep."

I jumped when Hige's butt started playing a song—a song I actually liked. "Get that idiot's ass to stop singing."

Hige sat up and put a weird shaped piece of plastic and metal against his ear. "Mom, you need to stop calling at three. You know that's my nap time."

"Mom?" I repeated, frowning. "What the hell is that thing?"

"You've never seen a cell phone before? I don't know if I should be amused or ashamed." Tsume definitely looked amused. Damn smirk. "Where have you been?"

I glared at him, pissed off for being embarrassed by something like him. "I've never been in a city. How the hell should I know what the hell a 'cell phone' is?"

Toboe sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I don't like Hige's cell phone—it's always waking me up." He gave Hige what I suppose was his equivalent of a death glare; the kid was so nice, he couldn't scare anything.

"MOM! I know that I'm the sexiest thing alive, but I'm NOT getting laid!" Hige stuck his tongue out at Toboe. Maturity at its finest. "No, I won't be home for a while…Where am I going?...Sorry, Mom, uh…t-theYouthleadersaysnomoretalktime, loveyabye." He hit some strange button and the "cell phone" beeped.

"Youth group?" Tsume laughed. "What a bunch of Jesus loving fools we are."

"Shut up you sarcastic, impulsive failure of a mutt." I turned away. "Are we gonna follow the prints or not?"

"We'll follow the prints." Kiba brushed past Hige and started following the indented marks.

"We don't know where they're leading or who left them," Tsume mumbled, but followed anyway. "And who the hell elected YOU leader of this group? I don't remember voting."

Toboe was close behind Tsume. "Well, Kiba's the one who knows about Paradise and can smell the Flower…"

"All of you can smell it. It smells different to everyone." I eyed the prints; they belonged to a human, male, in combat boots with a nervous, sporadic step. Someone was scared.

"Really? What does it smell like to you?" Toboe was perhaps one of the nosiest pups I had ever met.

"It's supposed to smell like Paradise." Even if he was innocent and the nicest Wolf I'd met thus far since my pack died, it was none of his damn business what I smelled.

Kiba froze at the opening of a cave. "There are people in there."

"We should send a scout." Tsume glanced in my direction, followed by Hige, Toboe, and finally Kiba. "Go fetch, Spot."

I used to think that no one deserved to go to Hell. This guy was changing my mind. "Call me Spot again and I'll add another scar to your pretty face." Tsume opened up his mouth to answer, but I was already in the cave. Point for me.

Whoever was in the cave smelt musty and nervous. They were expecting us, but they were scared, too. Humans are so stupid. Purposely leave a trail for something to follow, then wait in fear for something you're expecting. I kept as high up in the cave as possible, knowing they were lower than I was, and kept following my nose. Someone had lit candles; fragrant smoke was drifting near the top of the cave. Damn smell made me want to sneeze.

"Maybe they didn't see the trail," a small voice said nervously from below me. The man was small and dressed in red and white. "What if they don't come?"

"They will. They know where we are and that we are their faithful servants." It was a woman that said this; she was sleek and slim, with shimmering white hair that reached her waist. "They know we will help them."

"Of course, Priestess." The man bowed low.

"They are nearby, looking for the Flowers." She turned away, her long robes twirling around her.

My eyes narrowed. How the hell did she know about the Flowers? She was a human- none of them knew about Paradise or the Flowers besides Darshia, and I didn't even consider him human. I had heard enough; turning quickly, I ran back towards the group.

"What'd ya see?" Toboe asked, running to greet me as I exited the cave.

"Did they have food?" Hige asked, patting his growling stomach.

"They didn't have food. And they knew about the Flowers." I turned to Kiba as I said the last part; he frowned and started walking towards the cave.

"Do you think they know where she is?" Tsume asked, bumping shoulders with me as he passed. "What if it's a trap?"

"Then we kill them," I said simply.

Hige started laughing. "Ah, Kuro! You try to act like you have a sense of humor—that's really funny! 'Then we kill them'! Yeah, right…And you weren't joking." He ducked his head, looking embarrassed. "Why the hell would they want to capture us or kill us, anyway? Were they soldiers?"

"Kuro would have gotten rid of them if they had been." Kiba shifted into Wolf form, his white fur shimmering dully.

Toboe sighed and followed his lead, changing into a scrawny, tawny brown colored Wolf. His scrawniness made my heart twist—one of the old members of my pack had been that thin. After shaking himself, Toboe cocked his head at me inquiringly, his tail starting to wag. I simply shook my head, changed into my Wolf form ,and cut off Tsume, who was trying to follow Kiba. Two points for me.

When we reached where I had found the humans, I heard Tsume let out a low growl. He obviously didn't like the look of the humans. His fur was standing up on end, his lips curled back in a silent snarl. Even to me he looked a little frightening. A little. Like hardly at all. "Spot was right," he growled, still in his Wolf form. "Let's kill them."

"NO!"

Toboe's panicked outburst echoed off the stony walls and made the humans look up. Kiba tensed, a growl escaping from his throat. He was nicer than I was—If I had had my way, they would have been dead as soon as I saw them.

"My lords!" The woman flung herself on the ground, followed by the man. "Finally you have come!"

"Lords?" Hige repeated, scratching the back of his head.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Tsume demanded, eyes flashing.

"Apparently, they worship Wolves." Hige grinned. "That means that they'll feed us!"

"Shut the hell up." I made a face; Tsume had said it at the exact same time as me.

"What do you think, Kiba?" Toboe asked, looking at the White Wolf.

Kiba sat gazing at the humans for a moment, then hopped down and eyed them. "Who are you and what do you want from us?"

Hige sniffed a moment, squinting at the man, before grabbing my arm. "Hey! He's the guy—that one guy who bugged us and gave us the piece of paper! It's that dude!"

I jerked my arm away, hoping that he hadn't given me fleas. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

The man looked excited, starting to tremble with excess energy. "My Lord remembers me?"

"Yeah! You still smell like hot dogs." Hige felt my unimpressed look and seemed to shrink. "Hey, I'm off my eating schedule. Give me a break. Don't hate on the super sniffer."

The woman slowly stood, her movements long and graceful, effortless. She fixed us with a piercing gray stare, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something about her was not natural. "My Lords, we are your faithful servants. We wish to assist you on your journey to Paradise."

"How the hell do you know about Paradise?" Tsume demanded, bristling as much as I was.

"We have found the Book of the Moon. We know the truth of your pure forms and the Flowers."

"Where is it?" Kiba asked softly but passionately. "Where's the Book of the Moon?"

The Priestess pulled a small, worn book from her robe. "Here you are, my Lord. The Text of Truth, the Book of the Moon."

Kiba took the book and examined it. Even from where I was standing, the ancient smell of Lunar Flowers was strong. "Where did you find this?" He carefully turned the Book in his hands, gently running his fingertips along the cover of it.

"My great grandmother found it years ago. She learned its way and taught my grandmother, my mother, and then my mother taught me. My daughter is learning now."

"Congrats. Kiba, let me see it." I held out my hand; he eyed me for a moment, reminding me of what I had said to Toboe: "You don't trust each other. One person isn't a pack." Slowly, he offered the Book to me. The cover was worn and rough, but it was warm in my hands; the scent of the Flowers was overwhelming.

"Will you help us save a Lunar Flower?" Kiba asked them, eyes narrowing as he gazed at them.

"You mean the One?"

"Ooh! Like in 'The Matrix'! Those movies were awesome, man…But I don't think that the Flower's name is Neo, lady." Hige's cheeks were really red. "I need to stop with these outbursts. I'm the only one here who has any knowledge what-so-ever of pop culture."

Everyone stared at Hige in silence for a moment, then returned to the matter at hand. "We will help you save her." The woman's eyes met with mine. "He will lead you to where she is, for now."

I felt a growl escape from my throat before I returned to the Book. Carefully, I flipped through the pages. My eyes scanned each page, unable to read them, but searching anyway—WAIT! I stopped at a page and stared blankly at the picture. It was Darshia, creepy-ass grin and all, but he had both eyes. And one of them looked like a Wolf's. "Kiba, look at this."

Tsume looked over my shoulder before Kiba even had a chance to turn. "What the hell! That's Darshia!"

Hige peeked over my other shoulder. "'Children of the Great Spirit, this demon, I tell you, will lead you to false Paradise, to Hell on Earth.'" He raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Weird writing style. Kinda ironic that Darshia happens to run a place called Hell, eh?"

"It's not irony."

"No duh, Kuro. Just tryin' ta lighten the mood, ya know? Let's keep away from that place. If some kooky religious book can mention that guy as a demon, I'm thinking he might be bad news."

"What else does it say?" Kiba asked, face unreadable. He was like a damn talking wall.

"'Only one pack shall survive Hell, and from it shall spring the Tainted One, who has ingested Evil. This Evil is necessary to enter Paradise.'" The woman nodded. "The only way to find Paradise is through Hell."

"That 'Great Spirit' thing had one twisted sense of humor." Hige turned to Kiba, who was looking back towards the entrance of the cave. "What do you think about all of this, Kiba? Are we still heading for Hell?" He scratched his ear furiously, looking annoyed.

"We're going," Kiba said simply.

"Where are we going, Hige?" I asked calmly, turning to gaze at him.

"Paradise." He kept scratching.

"And what did the Book say?"

"You'll reach Paradise through Hell."

"So why did you ask that dumb-ass question?"

Hige glared at me. "I already knew that answer, alright? I was just hoping that maybe we wouldn't go there. I mean, does anyone here seriously want to? Let's see a show of hands." No one moved. "That's what I thought." Tsume's fist connected solidly with the back of Hige's head. "OW! Piss, that hurt! YOU want to go to Hell, Tsume? You'll fit right in."

Tsume turned away. "I don't even think this Paradise exists. Why would I go through Hell for something that's not even real?"

"Hell is real," I growled. Everyone turned to look at me, the Priestess with a hint of shock. "If Hell is real, and it's in this book, who's to say that Paradise isn't? I've seen Hell and Darshia, I've smelt the Flowers. Now I'm waiting for someone to open Paradise." I closed the Book of the Moon. "Stop being such a hard-headed bastard and give it up. Paradise is real."

"So what are we waiting for?" Hige asked.

"Nothing," Kiba answered. "Let's go."

"I knew I wasn't gonna get any sleep," Toboe muttered, ten sighed and followed Tsume and Kiba towards the front of the cave. Towards Hell. And then, towards Paradise.

Author's Notes: Well well well…. I've updated a lot recently. There's not much else to say, I suppose, other than that I've finally finished the first notebook that I wrote all of this in. I have a second one, ready to go. Sorry if you don't appreciate the new characters…I figured that if they were reborn, they would be certain to meet new people. Only two of them are majorly important to the plot, and the next chapter will be from an OC's POV too. You'll recognize her, I think. She's shown up a few times. Hope you enjoy, and leave me a comment!


	11. Jailhouse Blues

Disclaimer: Hm…I still don't own it, and I won't claim it. Original characters (of which there is an abundance in this chapter) are mine, though. Hence the title ORIGINAL characters.

Mira's POV

"_I'm here alone, _

_And I can't sleep, I want to see you…"_

Nightmares. Maybe that's why they call it Hell. The nightmares won't go away, and there's nothing to do here but sleep and brood. I've never been very good at either. Even when I wasn't in Hell I had nightmares, but now they were worse. So much worse. Vivid and terrifying, I always saw that White Wolf running, running towards something, three other Wolves following him. They never got very far—demons and monsters tore them to shreds before they even had a chance to yelp. And I felt like it was my fault.

I glared to the side when I heard someone walking towards me. Cher's face peered at me through the bars, eyes wide as she looked at me in amazement. She kept her distance, as afraid as any human would be around an unbroken Wolf.

"You're amazing."

I ignored her. Darshia (bastard) probably sent her to get something out of me. Wasn't gonna happen.

"Why does he have you locked up like this? Do you hate humans or did you attack someone or—"

"Idiot." I turned to look at her, making her jump. "You know why I'm here."

She shook her head. "I don't understand any of this. He won't explain anything to me."

"You work here. You have at least some understanding of what's going on. And if you seriously don't, then why are you still working here?"

"Because I WANT to understand. I need to know why this is happening, why you're being locked up, what they are doing to Cheza…all of it. I just don't understand any of it. And if I understood, maybe I could help you." She grabbed the bars, looking almost desperate.

My hand shot out and grabbed one of her wrists, my grip tight enough to make her uncomfortable without hurting her. "I could break your wrist right now. I could kill you without a problem." I could feel her starting to tremble, and a twinge of guilt twisted my stomach. This wasn't really what I wanted. "Do you know where the Flowers are?"

"Flowers?" She gasped in pain as I tightened my grip. "You're hurting me!"

"Come on, blondie—I'm not stupid. You reek of Flowers. You must have been near them recently."

"…Are you talking about the Flowers in the Book of the Moon? The Lunar Flowers? They're here?"

I let go of her wrist and looked at her in confusion. "You really don't know anything?"

"I already told you I don't."

I slowly allowed myself to relax. "You don't have any preconceived notions about Wolves, the Flowers, any of it?"

"No." Cher rubbed her wrist, watching me carefully. "Are you going to tell me something or not?"

"He has us captured because he's looking for the Key."

"The Key?"

I sighed softly. "They call it 'the Evil' in the Book of the Moon."

"Why does he think it's whereabouts are known by a Wolf?"

"A Wolf will be the Tainted One, who has ingested Evil." I stretched as much as possible in the dinky cage. "All I now is that he's doing tests of some sort to find the Evil."

"He's not a Wolf. How can he enter Paradise?"

"Technically, no one can enter Paradise until the White Wolf and the Key are there and open it. Darshia may find the Key, but he doesn't have the White Wolf."

"What about Hayo?"

"He doesn't count. There's no way in hall that someone like HIM could open Paradise." I sighed again. "Darshia's probably looking for the White Wolf, too."

"Are they rare?"

"To say the least. Hayo's an albino, so technically he's not a real White Wolf."

Cher thought for a moment, then murmured softly, "So why are all of you here? Shouldn't he have an idea of where the Key is, if he's been looking for it for so long?"

I shrugged. "He's also a sadistic bastard. He probably likes hearing them scream."

"Cheza said someone was screaming, too. Who are they? Why can't I hear them?"

I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest. "They are the Flowers…hidden away here, somewhere. You can hear them crying and screaming, so afraid, hurting so bad, wanting to get away… I don't know if they're actually hurting or if it's only a reaction to our pain, but something makes them scream." I glanced at her, watching her eyes grow concerned and sad. "Being Wolves, we want to help, to make them stop. Anyone who could hear it would want to end it. It's impossible to describe."

"How can Darshia hear it if I can't?"

"There's no doubt in my head that that insane son of a bitch can hear them."

Cher glanced around the cages. "Why are they so quiet? You would think that we're alone here."

"They've given up." Cher looked at me quizzically. "They don't want to hurt anymore, so they don't acknowledge the reality of what's going on. It's something like being dead."

Cher looked horrified, her hands flying up to her mouth as her eyes widened. "That's horrible! Why hasn't it happened to you?"

"Because I won't let it." I gave her a meek smile. "Someone's coming. You should go. But come back some other time, alright? It's lonely here."

"I won't let you die like them."

"It's weird…I actually believe you. Get moving, blondie."

"What's your name?"

"Mira. And your is Cher, I know. Go!"

She turned and ran off, her heels clicking down the hallway as she skittered. Hayo stepped into the hallway as soon as she was out of sight. "Getting friendly with the humans now, are we, Mira?"

"Shut the hell up. Like you have any right to talk. You're screwing around with Darshia. What's it like being someone's lap dog?"

Hayo smirked at me, pale red eyes flicking with amusement. "I'll be the one to open Paradise and live happily ever after. Sometimes it's hard being a White Wolf—Everyone's so quick to judge."

"You're a damn albino. White Wolves are pure because of their soul, not a damn genetic mutation caused by their momma's smoking crack."

Hayo's eyes narrowed on me. "Jealousy is such an ugly emotion. If you had followed Darshia, maybe you'd be out of that cage and headed for Paradise."

"If I had followed Darshia, maybe I'd have a collar and bark only when someone said 'speak'." I scowled at him, hating him even more than I hated Darshia at that time. "No one bosses me around. My end is going to be of my own doing, not someone else's. And Paradise would never open to or accept a creep like you."

He cocked his head. "Oh, really? And how do you know this?"

"Because I've seen the White Wolf in my dreams." I felt a grin twist my lips. "He's infinitely hotter than you."

Hayo rolled his eyes at me. "Dreams are dreams. They're the result of your mind struggling to make sense of everything that happened during the day. I doubt if your handsome White Wolf even exists."

I ignored him and looked away. That arrogant smirk of his was enough to drive anyone insane. My ears twitched as I heard my lock click open. He's just playing with you, I thought to myself, refusing to move. It won't work.

"Don't you want to come out and play?" Turning my head, I realized that he cage was open. The only thing in my way was Hayo. "You can be free, if you get through me."

My eyes narrowed on him. "You jackass."

"That won't make me move."

I turned away, refusing to acknowledge him. He was reaching for my cage door when I leapt at him, but he wasn't off guard. He tore into my shoulder before he fell, me snarling and foaming after him.

We landed several feet away from each other, both of us bristling and bleeding. I could care less about my wounded shoulder; something in his eyes told me there would be worse to come. Carefully, eyes never leaving mine, Hayo started circling me, long claws ticking gently against he floor. Slowly, I followed his movements, refusing to let him get ahead of me, yet refusing to pass him. Blood, my blood, stained his pale fur crimson, matching his eyes.

He moved first, lunging at me with a low growl. Snarling, I twisted away, barely keeping my distance from him; I leapt up on his back, bristling as I ripped into the space between his shoulder blades. Howling in pain and rage, Hayo slammed me against the cages. The other Wolves started snarling and barking, finally seeming to come back to life as I slowly sank to the ground, my lungs feeling like they were going to explode. It couldn't end here. I wasn't going to let him win.

Slowly, I stood up, legs shaking slightly. Ignoring the pain, I slowly began circling him, listening to the soft, constant plip of my own blood dripping on the floor.

Hayo lunged at me again, and I leapt to the side, skidding slightly as I landed. The albino bastard landed right in one of my pools of blood; he started sliding, unable to stop himself on the smooth floor. I caught hold of his leg as he slid; sharp pricks of agony ran down my neck as he grabbed my throat. His grip tightened as I felt his bone breaking beneath my teeth—I wasn't going to last much longer.

"That's enough, Hayo."

Hayo's body instantly relaxed. He released my throat and darted to Darshia, who had two guards with him.

"Take her to the medical center." Darshia turned away. "Keep her alive, for now."

I barely had the strength to struggle as the soldiers started gathering me up. They weren't afraid. Even if I had been able to bite them, I wouldn't have been able to hold on to or pierce their armor.

Damn, I though, my vision turning black. Why the hell did I do that?

Hayo smirked as I was carried by. Someday, someone was going to wipe that damn smile off his face, even if it wasn't me.

Author's Notes: YAY MIRA! She's actually a representation of me. grin She has much more of a potty mouth than I do, and she's a lot tougher, but on the inside…kokoro de… she and I are a lot alike. In most respects. Anyways, next one is Tsume's, so we're getting back on track with the whole fanfic thing. Sorry all the OCs are taking over, but…well, they're necessary. The plot wouldn't work without them. Gotta get to love them, if they're sticking around. And Hubb? Don't know when he's making an appearance. Sorry, any fan girls (I wasn't even aware that you existed oo). Next chapter is all about the Book of the Moon and Hell, so…enjoy! AND THANK YOU, KINTORA! You give me hope to continue this You are a hero. salutes


	12. The Gates of Hell

Disclaimer: Don't own Wolf's Rain, as previously stated in the last eleven chapters.

Tsume's POV

"_For whose sake_

_Have I been born?"_

I hate the smell of that damn smoke. Why the hell do they even burn the scented stuff? Any Wolf in their right mind would stay away from anything that smells like this.

In any case, we each got a copy of the Book of the Moon from the Priestess Freak and her Lackey. Toboe asked me if any of it sounded familiar. Stupid pup, I've never read it before. "It's all a bunch of philosophical, judgmental babble to me."

"I don't understand all of it," Toboe admitted, looking embarrassed. "We never read stuff like this when I was in school."

"This reminds me of when I read stuff from the Bible at high school. It was an assignment." Hige continued eating his potato chips, flipping through the Book. "Only the story part makes much sense. All the rest of it has to be 'personally interpreted.' It all depends on what you think it means. What do you think, Pup?"

"…I think I don't know a lot of the words." Toboe kept flipping, not making eye contact with Hige. "My grandma died when I was in second grade—nobody else sent me to school."

"Oh." Hige laughed and pointed. "Hey, Tsume, that Wolf kinda looks like you!"

I scowled and glanced at the picture. The Wolf was large, steely gray, and pissy looking. A scar blotched his chest, large and painful looking. For a moment, the Pup rubbed off on me; I thought the guy looked familiar. "You're a damn idiot. That one looks like you."

"Screw you, buddy. I'd never let someone put a collar on me." Hige finished the bag of chips and reached for another one. "Besides, I'm infinitely hotter than that guy."

"Kiba." Toboe stared down at his copy, looking amazed. "That guy is Kiba."

I leaned over to gaze at the picture, Hige bumping shoulders with me as he leaned in as well. After glaring at him, I shoved him backwards and returned to the Book. Surprisingly, the Pup was right. The guy looked exactly like Kiba, with passionate bright eyes and a pure white coat. "Hm…" This was starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

"Yo, Kiba! We found your last school photo!" Hige called. "How long do you think that Priestess chick was stalking us to make this Book?"

"She wasn't," Kuro growled, closing his own copy. "My pack had a copy of this Book."

"Well that's creepy." Hige turned to me. "Have you ever seen this Book before, Drop Out?"

"No," I snapped. "Why the hell would I? Do you really think I had time to just sit down and read?"

"Seeing as you're a homeless bum, yes," Kuro muttered, standing.

I felt a growl escape my throat. "You just live to piss me off, don't you?"

He ignored me and walked off as Kiba walked over. "What were you talking about, Hige?"

Hige pointed at the picture again. "He looks EXACTLY like you."

Kiba stared at it for a moment, expressionless as always. "That one looks like Tsume."

"Told ya!" Hige said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"And that one looks like Hige." Kiba's last comment made Porky shut up real quick. "And Toboe." For some reason, the mention of the Pup in the Book made me even more pissed off than I had been before.

"Why aren't you in there, Kuro?" Hige asked, looking around for him. "Kuro?"

"He went outside to think." Creepy Priestess Lady walked over, stopping a distance away. "May I approach you, my Lords?"

Kiba looked at her in his normal stoic manner, then answered, "You don't have to ask. We aren't gods or anything."

She lowered her head respectfully. "You have walked this world before."

That pissed me off even more. This whole Book of the Moon thing, mentioning us, and only us, was making me start to doubt myself. I HATED that. Nothing this Book said gave us any control of who we were and what we did; the idea that my entire existence was built around the damn principle that I should live out what this Book had to say seriously pissed me off. The fact that I once had nightmares about getting that damn scar, nightmares about Hige stumbling around some city, looking almost like he was in pain, nightmares about Toboe laying, bleeding on the ground…Kiba, bleeding, trapped in some witch's spell as she tried to open that damn Paradise that everyone was looking for… Weren't we born for our own behalves? Weren't we meant to live the way that we wanted? I knew damn well that I wasn't born to help open some fairyland for everyone else. I was born to live life as I damn well pleased, regardless of what that rotting piece of shit had to say.

"What about Kuro?" Toboe asked, snapping me out of my own thoughts. He's so damn naïve.

"Kuro has not, though he has become a part of all this. He will help open Paradise."

"You think WE will open Paradise?" Hige asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Hige burst out laughing; I had to agree with Porky on this one. "You think that WE will pen Paradise—have you seen us? A high school drop out, an antisocial pretty boy, an innocent, orphaned pup, a creepy Wolf with a white spot on his chest, and me—"

"—An egotistical, fat momma's boy," I finished for him. "I don't even believe in Paradise. And I sure as hell won't stop living the way I have because some book told me to."

"It as preordained," she answered patiently. "More will join you, and Paradise will open. The Tainted One will be cleansed, and the White Wolf will—"

"Blah blah blah blah blah," Hige sighed, scratching his chin. "Maybe we should get going?"

Toboe looked up at me. "You're coming with us, right, Tsume?"

Damn pup. I turned towards the cave's entrance again. "Let's go."

Kiba's eyes met with the Priestess's. "You're coming with us."

She bowed low. "As you wish, my Lord."

Kuro glanced at us as we walked out to him; he didn't say anything, just started walking. I felt a growl start in my throat. He wasn't even cocky or arrogant, just so indifferent towards everything that it pissed me off.

"Yeah! Short got down, said come and get me...Yeah! I got so caught up, I forget she told me…"

"NO." I glared back at Hige. "If you EVER start singing again, I will castrate you and shove your balls in your mouth so that you can't make any sound ever again."

Hige looked at me blankly. "Chill out, man, it was just Usher. Who's YOUR favorite singer? Linkin Park? Britney Spears? T.M. Revolution? Utada Hikaru?"

"I don't like music," I snapped, giving him another glare. Music only served to try to remind me of something I kept telling myself I never forgot.

"I bet you like Britney. I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're—"

"STOP," Kuro, Kiba, Lackey Boy and I all said at the same time.

"Wow, Hige. How do you get your voice so high?" Toboe asked him, eyes wide with wonder.

"People who haven't reached puberty can do that," I grumbled, and I could have sworn that Pretty Boy smiled a little bit.

"I have to reached puberty," Hige snapped, sounding indignant. "Don't hate on my beautiful singing voice."

"I'm not. I'm hating on your horrible one," I answered, still walking.

"Shut up." Kuro hooked his fingers into a fence and started climbing, the fence clanking noisily.

Kiba, Toboe and Hige all clamped their hands over their noses as an overwhelming stench swam over us. I felt the need to vomit as I quickly covered my nose. "What the hell is that smell!"

Kuro landed on the other side of the fence and turned to us. "You'll see soon enough. Hurry up." And with that, Spot turned away and started walking.

I choked the whole time I lumbered up the fence. When I got to the other side, I blinked and stared at Toboe, who was shaking himself out. "How the hell did you get over here before me?"

"I slipped under the fence," he told me with a smile. "I'm small enough to fit."

Hige fell on his ass nearby. "You need to eat more food, Pup."

Kiba glanced over his shoulder at us, hand over his nose. "We're falling behind."

Priestess Chick floated along behind us, her little lackey close behind her as we walked on. Kuro offered no explanation to where we were going or why, just kept walking.

"Uh…Kuro?" Damn pig—didn't he realize we were in enemy territory? "Could you explain the smell now? It's really…nasty."

Kiba looked back at us again. "Be quiet, Hige."

"Too late now," Porky said, pointing. Two guards were walking towards us, guns at the ready. "Still got that knife, Kuro?"

Kuro dodged a bullet, he and Kiba dashing to the sides. As the guards swerved to block them, I ran forward as a Wolf, snarling as I tore the gun from one of the guard's hands. Kiba leapt on the other one as I tore out my opponent's throat, wincing as a gargled scream tore through the air. We had lost the element of surprise. Damn.

"Here." Kuro beckoned us to a tower and ducked into an open door. I grabbed Toboe and ran in; Kiba slammed the door shut after everyone made it. "Good job, Tsume."

I glared at Kuro, struggling to keep myself from tearing his head off. "Hige was the dumbass who wouldn't shut his damn mouth. It's his fault, if it's anyone's."

Hige shrugged. "You can still smell the crap. I still want to know what it is."

Abruptly, a wail rose form a nearby building, horrible and despairing. The pain and utter sadness in the cry made me want o scream. Nothing should have to suffer like that; I clamped my hands over my ears, trying to block it out.

Toboe started sobbing, sitting down on the ground and curling up. "What is that? What's happening?" He clutched at his ears as well, shaking his head furiously. "Make it stop!"

More cries joined the wail, some of them Wolves howling, others those horrible, unidentifiable voices. A growl escaped Kiba's throat, his face scrunched in pain before he threw his head back and howled with the rest.

I glared at Kuro, who hadn't budged from where he was. "What the hell is wrong with you! Can't you hear them!"

"All I can hear is Wolves howling," Lackey Boy murmured, glancing up at the Priestess. "What do you hear, Milady?"

She hesitated before turning to Kuro, who was the only one not freaking out. "I am also confused, my Lord."

Kuro's eyes met with mine. "Now do you believe in Hell?"

Hayo's POV

It took all of my strength to keep from ripping the man's head off. His hands were shaking as he looked down at me, bowed at his feet, then looked at Darshia with wide, begging eyes. Humans. Waste of everyone's damn time.

The man's eyes stayed fixed on Darshia. "Do you have it? The Pollen?"

Darshia offered him a bag. A very SMALL bag. "Is everything in place, Prime Minister?"

Prime Minister Daijinano snatched the bag and clutched it to his chest. "Yes, yes—my sister, Jagura, is taking care of the preparations. Hw much is in here?"

"Enough to last you until we next meet." He turned to me, one blue eye shining. "Let us go, Hayo."

I nodded and stood, glaring back at Daijinano. When we had left the building and Darshia was removing his tie, I growled. "I hate that man. If you gave me a chance to tear out his filthy human throat—"

"Patience, Hayo, patience. He is blocking the way to Paradise. He must be removed."

Author's Notes: Yes, I stuck in the little mini-chapter at the end. Things are starting to get good, after this. Don't worry, they'll find Cheza soon, and then they can start trotting along to where they belong. Reviews and comments are always appreciated…


	13. Flower in a Vase

Disclaimer: Don't own Wolf's Rain, as previously stated in the last twelve chapters.

Kiba's POV

"_Run Run Run_

_Isn't it beautiful_

_This life of a flower?"_

The screaming finally stopped. My throat was raw form howling and I was vaguely aware of tears on my cheeks. Tsume wiped his own face quickly and stood, refusing to make eye contact with me. "What was that, Kuro?" I croaked, turning to look at him. "It was them, wasn't it?"

Kuro nodded quietly. "I don't know what that monster does to them, but they scream like that throughout the entire day and night. Humans can't hear them—it doesn't matter to them. But even humans can tell there's something wrong with the whole place."

Toboe sniggled and wiped his nose and eyes, his whole body trembling. "Let's leave."

"It's too late now," Priestess lady murmured, looking directly at me.

"Darshia left this afternoon." Everyone whirled around to gaze at a slim blond woman with messy hair. "Don't worry, I'm a friend. I know why the Flowers scream."

"Why should we trust you?" Tsume demanded, glaring at her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Cher—"

"Like the singer?" Hige interrupted, eyes bright. "That woman-" Tsume punched him. Hard. If I ever allowed myself to, I'd need to thank him. "Piss! You guys really do know nothing about pop culture!"

"Isn't that American pop culture, anyway?" Lackey-Boy muttered, giving Hige a strange look.

"—and I use to work for Darshia." Everyone bristled. "I quit this morning, but the staff hasn't been informed yet. I can get you into the building."

"That's all damn peachy, but that has nothing to do with why we should trust you." This is why I never thank Tsume. Even I have some form of manners…

"You've walked this world before, too." The Priestess took several steps towards Cher. "You must have no memory of it."

Cher gave her a skeptical look before looking at me desperately. "Do you trust me?"

I didn't answer right away- waste of energy. Instead, I stared straight into her crystalline blue eyes, a silent sort of challenge. She gazed right back, refusing to let me turn away. Hm. Strange woman. She was smart, I could tell, so she knew she was surrounded by some pissy Wolves, but she wasn't afraid. Quite the opposite—she seemed fearless, dominant, but not cocky in her strength. Not your normal human. I had made up my mind; after she blinked, I lunged at her, snarling, and tore her hair out of her ponytail. Cher screamed and fell backwards, her hands flying up to protect her face. Turning, ponytail holder in hand, I met her eyes again. "Do you trust us?"

Cher swallowed hard and turned her face away. "You have to give trust to get it…"

"So who gives first?" I demanded, and she went silent, still on the ground.

Hige sighed suddenly. "As amazing as this rendition of my Psych class is, maybe we should decide what to do and do it?"

Toboe glanced up at me. "I trust her, Kiba." The Pup would probably trust anyone, so his vote of confidence didn't sway me much. "I have a good feeling about her."

I tossed her ponytail holder at her. "Lead the way."

fifteen minutes later

We kept to the shadows as Cher opened each door, glanced inside, and beckoned us in. Hige had finally shut up, and Toboe had stopped complaining, so our way was silent until Cher opened a large steel door.

"Anatoria." Everyone turned to look at Kuro in confusion. "This is where we separate. I have to find her."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsume glared at Kuro, eyes flashing with barely controlled hostility.

Kuro started walking off, a barely hidden urgency in his step. "If she's alive, maybe others from my pack are."

"Coward." Kuro paused for a moment, then kept walking. Tsume wouldn't quit. "You're afraid to keep going. You're trying to run away."

"You're a cranky dumb ass. Say whatever you want, I'm finding Anatoria."

Tsume started following him. "Let's see where you run to, Spot."

I sighed softly as Toboe trotted after Tsume. "I'm going with them, Kiba, OK? I'll be right back."

Hige grinned. "Guess it's just you, me, and the humans, Kiba, old buddy." He paused for a moment, then leaned forward and sniffed. "Smell that?"

I took a few sniffs as well and felt my heart skip a beat. "She's here." I took off without thinking. Hige's voice followed me: "As I was saying, it's just me and the humans…"

I ran as hard as I could, following that alluring, sweet scent to my Flower—or another steel door. Skidding to a stop, I looked at the door, anger and annoyance building up in me. The Flower was right behind the door, I knew it. So why? Why another damn steel door? The only way through was if Cher had the key.

Turning away, I jumped as the heater started, the whole place moaning as the vents were filled with warm air. I froze in midstep. The vents.

Glancing around, I searched for a vent that I could fit through. Just my luck- the only one was on the insanely high ceiling.

"Hey, you!" A soldier ran at me, ready to spear me with his bayonet.

I waited until he was right beneath the vent to run at him. His eyes widened and he swung at me, stopping right where I needed him to. One easy jump, a push off his head, and I was in the vent; the soldier collapsed, his neck broken from the force of my body.

After putting the ripped cover and filter back onto the vent opening, I took off down the tunnel, wishing that I wasn't wearing my jacket. I glanced through each opening I came to, seeing lab after lab after-there.

I slammed the vent open with my shoulder and went tumbling into the dimly lit room below me, landing on my feet. The Flower hung gracefully in front of me, hovering in a green orb that had wires spiraling out of it. Her eyes were closed, pale lashes fanning out over paler cheeks, and her head was tipped down slightly. She looked almost like a puppet, her arms spread out and back while her legs remained neatly together and pointed at the ground; she was beautiful.

Stepping forward, I gently rested my hand on the glass, which was strangely warm. Her eyes opened slowly, a smile touching her lips as she gazed at me. I couldn't think of what to say, but one word popped out of my mouth. "Cheza."

"Kiba." Her voice was soft, melodious, here but not. She smiled again, eyes warming.

Shock went through me as someone knocked me over; I wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't have tripped on one of the tubes feeding into the orb. Green liquid sprayed everywhere, making the wires spark.

"Bastard." A pale man with red eyes snarled down at me, eyes flashing with hatred. "Darshia was waiting for you."

"You're a Wolf." Something in me couldn't believe that one Wolf would betray another; it's our nature to stick together. "What are you doing with Darshia?"

"Finding the way to Paradise." He lunged at me again; this time I dodged. The room was filling with smoke and flames. "You're in the way." His teeth caught my arm this time. I twisted my head around and caught his throat, right beneath the jaw bone. Placing his front paws on my chest, he shoved down as hard as he could, knocking the wind out of me while forcing me to release my hold. With surprising strength, he spun and flung me into the air, straight at the orb.

Twisting in midair, I shoved off of the orb, feeling the glass crack beneath me, and met the albino halfway to the ground. We both tore at each other; agony flashed against the side of my chest as his teeth ripped my skin open. As soon as I landed, I turned back to the orb and started running towards it. The liquid was spraying from the cracks, the pressure inside building until the globe exploded. I had almost reached Cheza when the Wolf got in my way. He grinned at me insanely, unaware of the blood pouring from his throat and shoulder. My eyes were playing tricks on me; for a moment, I thought he was a black wolf, huge and looming, with one flashing blue eye and one golden…And then he looked like he did before, thin and shimmering white. "Thank you for visiting Hell. We hoped you enjoyed your stay."

Author's Note: AH HA! I'm not dead, I swear. My wrist is, though, which is why it took so long to update—that, and I was on vacation. If it ever takes an eternity for me to update, you could check my profile, because that's where I'll tell you what hurts. Next chapter is Toboe's…and Kuro and Tsume and their stupidity make me happy. You'll see what I mean next chapter. Toodles until next time! Oh,and the quotes at the beginning...those all come from songs...mostly Japanese that I've translated. If you can figure out what songs they're from, maybe I'll give you a cookie...or something. A prize. Whatever.


	14. Jail Break

Disclaimers: Once more, the Wolf's Rain? It's not mine.

Toboe's POV

"_We are free,_

_Come on,_

_Let's go"_

same time as Kiba running off

Kuro and Tsume were running too fast for me to keep up with. OK, so maybe they weren't really running, but they were walking really fast. And arguing. A lot.

"Why don't you just shut up?" Kuro paused for a moment to sniff the air. "If we get caught by guards, it's your fault. I'll kill them, of course, but it'll be proof that you're a dumb ass." He turned a corner and sighed. "Damn."

"Who's a dumb ass?" Tsume asked with a chuckle. "How are you gonna open the door?"

"Maybe it's unlocked," I offered, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, and maybe I'm Human." Tsume rolled his eyes. "Who the hell would be stupid enough to leave this door unlocked—"

I tugged on the handle and the door swung open. Smiling up at them, I watched Kuro give Tsume a sadistically (learned that word from Hige) amused smile. "What's so funny?" I asked in confusion.

"Shut up," Tsume growled. "Say one word and- holy flying shit."

The walls were lined with cages filled with Wolves. All of them looked at us in blank shock for a moment, then started barking and howling until one of the older ones snarled, "SHUT UP! Do you want the guards to come?"

Kuro looked at the Wolf closest to us. "Have you seen a very scrawny pup with dark fur and white markings?"

"She's down near the end of the hallway—where are you going!" Kuro had taken off, Tsume close behind him. "Are you going to let us out, Pup?"

"O-oh…yeah, of course!" I glanced after the Tsume and Kuro. "Um…" Looking back at the cage, I looked up at the Wolf inside. "Where's the lock."

"Outside." He gave me a look that made me feel pretty darn stupid.

"I'll be right back, Tsume!"

"Where are you going, Pup?"

"To unlock the cages."

Kuro turned to me. "Where are the locks?"

"Outside." I peeked out the door and spotted a pillar with a lot of markings on it. "Um…Tsume?"

He pushed me out of the way. "Go help Spot."

I skittered back inside and stopped next to Kuro. "Where is she?"

"Right here."

"Hi?" She WAS scrawny, scrawnier than even me, with wide brown eyes flecked with green. "Kuro, who's he?"

"I'm Toboe. Were you part of Kuro's pack?" I grabbed the bars to peek at her in curiosity. If she was…

"Yes." She smiled up at me. "He's like my big brother. I know everything about him."

"Everything?"

"Everything…Like this one time—"

"That's enough chit-chat for now," Kuro said, clearing his throat loudly. "Where's the jackass?"

"Who? Oh, Tsume? He's figuring out how to open the cages." I turned back to the girl. "What happened?"

"Can't you go help him or something?" Kuro looked almost embarrassed. "I'm sure he won't be able to figure it out."

I was flung backwards as the gates flew open. The lights shut off and the door slammed closed. "What happened?"

Kuro slammed on the door as the Wolves leapt out of their cages, yelping for joy. "Hey, dumb ass! What the hell did you do!"

Tsume's voice drifted into the room through the door. "I opened the cages, Spot."

"And locked us in!" Tsume didn't answer. "You damn retard! Lock the cages again and get us out of here!"

"I broke the damn pillar, okay! The damn thing kept asking for a key. I don't HAVE a damn key!"

"We're locked in here?" Kuro twitched as the girl from his pack asked the question. "Kuro, are we gonna get out?"

"Of course we will." I hesitated, then looked up at Kuro. "Right?"

Kuro sighed. "Dammit." He pounded on the door again. "You still there, Scar face?"

"Where the hell do you think I'd go?" Tsume sounded really angry. "Pissed", as the older guys say.

"Break the door open."

"Why the hell can't YOU do it?"

"The door swings in, dumb ass! It'll open easier if you do it."

"YOU have a roomful of WOLVES!"

Kuro fell briefly silent.

"Point for me, dumb ass."

"I was giving you time to rethink what you just said, you cocky bastard." Kuro cracked his knuckles, trying to stay calm. "These Wolves are all half-starved, exhausted, and weak. They haven't been able to use their muscles."

Tsume went silent this time.

"Point for me, dumb ass."

"Tsume just said that," I pointed out, and Kuro gave me a death glare. "Sorry."

Tsume pounded on the door for what seemed like an eternity when the sprinklers suddenly turned on and a red light started flashing. "Warning, warning…an emergency situation has been reported in the" –suddenly the voice sounded happy- "lab station" –back to serious- "area. Please exit the building avoiding this area. Do not run, walk, to your pre-assigned exit."

The girl- Anatoria- clung to Kuro. "What's going on?"

"What did you do THIS time, asshole?" Kuro called through the door, eyes flickering with amusement. He winked down at Anatoria; there was something different about him.

"What did I do! DO I SOUND LIKE I'M IN THE DAMN LAB STATION AREA!"

"Another point for me," Kuro muttered. "Keep going, Tsume."

Tsume must've hit the door pretty hard, because it went flying open and he ran straight into Kuro, who ran straight into me. We laid on the ground, jumbled and confused, as all the Wolves poured out of the door and made a run for it.

"The door must've unlocked when the alarm was set off," Anatoria murmured, blinking through the water from the sprinklers.

"You think so?" Tsume demanded irritably and was smacked on the head by Kuro. "What the hell was THAT for, Spot?"

Kuro happened to be sitting on my legs, and he weighed A LOT. "OW! Kuro, you're hurting me! Get off!"

As Kuro stood, he sighed. "You're welcome," he muttered, shaking himself off. "We need to find Kiba and go."

"How much ya wanna bet he's in the lab area?" Tsume headed towards the door o the opposite side of the room. "Come on, Pup."

"How do you know it's that way?" Kuro demanded, holding Anatoria's hand.

Tsume glared back at him and pointed to a map on the wall. "I'm assuming the little beakers might mean there's a lab there." Kuro didn't answer. "That's right, Spot. Shut up. Point for me."

As we entered the next room, a vaguely familiar scent tickled my nose. "Do you smell that, Tsume?"

"Yeah…" He glanced around, tensed. "Where's Porky when ya need him?"

"Look!" Anatoria pointed across the room. "See? There's a lady there."

Kuro shook his head to get the water out of his eyes and squinted. "Let's go."

I ran ahead of them and looked down at her. She was so familiar looking… Her eyes flickered open and she gazed up at me. "It's you! Tsume, she's not dead!"

"Who?" He blinked down at her in shock. "From the alley? With the old man…?"

I smiled down at her. "I so glad you aren't dead."

She smiled up at me a little. "Yeah, well…something we have in common." Slowly, she sat up, her arms shaking with the strain before she collapsed. "Ugh…you guys had better go. Darshia got back a while ago. He's probably looking for you." She wiped her eyes and brushed her hair out of her face. "Go!"

I turned to Tsume. "We can't just leave her here!"

Tsume sighed. "Come on, Pup…"

"I won't leave without her!" I grabbed onto her bedpost. "You can't leave her to die again, Tsume!" She had saved our lives…wasn't it only fair that we did the same for her?

He sighed and picked her up. "Let's go."

She gave him a strange look. "You did leave me to die, didn't you?"

Author's Note: Love me desperately for updating. The Stress Fairy has dumped much in the way of stressful gifts upon me, and I still update for you people. Don't worry about Anatoria…she's not really much of a main character. Just a way to lighten dear Kuro's mood, make him a little more different from Tsume. I didn't really design him…blame my dear Torre-kun for doing that. I didn't design Anatoria, either…that would be dear Brittany-chan. And I have to write another Wolf's Rain fic in order to stick in Molly-chan and Jessi-chan's characters….oh woe is me…Anyways, comment if you wish, and don't hold your breath for another update.


	15. Expectations

Disclaimer: Don't own Wolf's Rain. End of conversation.

Hige's POV

"_You're not alone, honey. Never. Never."_

after Kiba ran off

"Where to, my lord?"

I blinked and turned to stare that the Priestess in shock. "Where to? You're asking me?"

"Of course, my lord. You are the leader, we are your pack." She gazed at me calmly. Creep. "Tell us where to go."

I thought for a moment, then shrugged. "How about the cafeteria?"

Her turn to blink and stare. "Surely you're joking…"

"No, not really. I'm hungry. There must be some chow around here somewhere…" I sniffed around for a moment, but all I could smell was that horrible stench. Sometimes having a good nose is a big pain. "Aw, piss. Either of you two pick up one of those tourist maps?" They stared at me in unbelieving silence. "Guess not."

"Is there a battle to be fought in the cafeteria? Is some scoundrel hiding there, waiting for us?" Priestess Lady was really getting annoying.

"Um, no. I just want some grub."

She laughed. "My lord, you are too funny…"

I laughed with her. "Yeah, I know. Let's try this way- my belly has a good feeling about it." Sticking my hands in my pockets, I started walking, Priestess Chick dead silent behind me.

"But- but your fellow Wolves are on great quests to…"

"Can it, lady. They aren't on any great quest. They're just doing what they need to do. I can't fight worth a crap, and I know it, so I don't fight." Glancing back at her, I grinned. "More than anything, I'm just along for the ride. Besides, they don't really NEED me. They don't expect me to do anything worth while. I'm just living up to their expectations." Stopping at a cross section of hallways, I glanced back and forth. "Hm…which one should we take?"

"You are NOT what I expected." Priestess Lady said it look I should be insulted.

"Ya can't always get what you want." My nose was useless- I couldn't smell a thing. "Hm…eeny meeny miney moe…" I ended up on the one farthest to my left. Where that really nasty smell was coming from. "Heh heh…just kidding. Um…that one!" I started walking straight ahead. "It's less smelly."

The Priestess rolled her eyes and followed me, Lackey Boy trailing behind us. "My lord, I really think you should consider…"

"Where's Cher?" I stopped in midstep, looking around us. "I could've sworn she was here a minute ago…."

"She said something about stalling," Lackey Boy squeaked.

"Like with horses?"

"I think he means, my lord—"

"I know what he means." I gave Priestess Lady an unimpressed look. "You don't have much of a sense of humor, do you?"

She didn't answer, just lowered her head. Crazy Priestess; she really was a nut.

"This way," I sighed softly, and started walking again. "This place is bigger than my school."

"More dangerous too," Priestess Lady murmured.

"Don't be so sure—high school can be a scary, scary place." I froze and strained my hearing. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

I closed my eyes and focused on the singing. A soft song, sounding distant, but I knew it was nearby. "Let's go."

"I don't hear anything," Priestess Lady argued, trotting along behind me. "Maybe you really DO need to eat something."

Turning several corners, I finally found what I was looking for- a door with someone singing behind it. A locked door with someone singing behind it. "So much for that…"

Priestess Lady sighed and rammed her shoulder into the door. It went flying open; she bowed low. "My lord."

I blinked at her, surprised, then turned to Lackey Boy. "Did you know she could do that?" He shook his head, eyes wide. "OK, just wanted to make sure that was completely random and unexpected." I stepped into the room, which was pitch black—someone had turned all the lights off. "Hello?"

"You weren't who I expected." The smooth, cultured voice made my hair stand on end. I took an involuntary step backwards, seriously thinking about running, but the door slammed shut behind me. The voice laughed softly. "Hm, yes, I remember you. The one who fought so futilely for the half-breed. One of Jagera's mongrels."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I could hear Priestess Chick and Lackey Boy pounding on the door behind me. "What the hell do you want?"

"What do I want? Paradise. And revenge."

"Look, if you're one of those teachers who I pulled a prank on, I apologize sincerely. But I know none of my teachers had a creepy voice like yours, so, you've got the wrong guy." I glanced around warily. "I've never even met you before." Which was true, though I had the distinct feeling that I knew exactly who he was.

"Makes sense that someone like YOU wouldn't remember." Something ran past me on my right; I jumped and whirled around, taking several steps back. "It'll come to you eventually." Another creepy laugh, more like a chuckle this time, sending a chill down my spine.

"Where are you?" Damn that horrible smell; I couldn't catch a whiff of anything. "What are you going to do?"

"That would ruin the surprise now, wouldn't it?" A soft sigh echoed around me. "Pity. I was expecting to have more fun today."

Something hit my stomach, knocking the wind out of me and making me double over. I struck out wildly, just trying to keep my unseen foe from hitting me. The next blow came form the side, hitting me square in the jaw and making me hit the wall. My mouth filled with blood; I must've bit the inside of my mouth. "Piss," I muttered. What else was I supposed to say?

I squeaked as I was lifted by my hoody and flung across the room. My back hit the table or desk or whatever the hell was in the middle of the room and I yelped involuntarily. Struggling to stand, my hoody got caught on something and ripped, but I still couldn't move. "Dammit!" I was caught, and creepy-voice dude- Darshia- was coming for me. Piss.

Something metal hit my head the next time around, ripping me upwards and causing whatever my hoody was caught on to rip into my flesh. I gasped in pain, managing to choke on that gasp as I was hit in the back with the metal thing. Hitting the floor didn't feel half bad as I fell forward.

"You give up fast." Darshia grabbed my throat and hefted me up. "Aren't you going to fight at all?"

It took all of my strength to claw at the hand around my throat. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was whimpering pitifully. Little dots of light appeared before me, and I knew I was going to die.

Darshia let out another sigh. "No, you weren't at all who I was expecting."

Author's Note: Pardon the shortness. Let me make one statement: ITAI. Cursed wrist. Anyways, I might update again within the day, depending on how dead my wrist is. Ima, shinde.


End file.
